‘Diablo Immortal’ overcomes negative reception and wants to transform mobile games

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When asked by a fan during BlizzCon 2018 if “Diablo Immortal” would be released for PCs, Wyatt Cheng, one of the main game designers at Blizzard, said that this was out of the plans. At that moment, the new game in the franchise that was consolidated on computers would only be available for cell phones.

The audience’s reaction was to boo Cheng, who scoffed: “Don’t you guys have cell phones?” The moment went viral and, almost four years later, the game will be released this Thursday (2) for cell phones and PCs.

“Immortal” is the fourth title in the action RPG franchise that began in 1997 with “Diablo”. Since then, Blizzard has only released two other sequels, “Diablo II” (2000) and “Diablo III” (2012).

The title that continues the series’ chronology, “Diablo IV”, was expected by fans at the 2018 event, but was not announced until the following year. Initially slated for 2022, the game has been delayed and still doesn’t have a release date.

The plot of “Immortal” takes place between “Diablo II” and “Diablo III” – which does not arouse as much interest as the direct sequel – and was gradually conquering more conservative fans and attracting new interest.

Still in the alpha and beta phases, the game proved that it managed to apply the mechanics of “Diablo” to the cell phone screen. That even convinced Blizzard to go back and release it for PC – the title will now have crossplay and cross-platform progress transfer.

“The deciding factor was that we knew that many of you would try to play this game with an emulator, which led us to create a better experience,” the company explained in the PC version announcement in April.

Developed by Blizzard in partnership with Chinese company NetEase, one of the world’s leading mobile game developers, the game will be the first free “Diablo” with MMO elements. In it, players will be able to choose between six character classes, interact and participate in real-time events.

“Diablo Immortal” is part of a context in which mobile games are still left in the background by some of the main companies in the sector, such as Sony and Nintendo. Despite the popularity of mobile games, video game culture revolves around triple-A titles – those with a multimillion budget. By bringing a franchise of this size to cell phones, Blizzard tries to bridge the gap between the two models.

Mobile games are a more accessible alternative for both gamers and developers. Using a cell phone is cheaper than building a gaming PC or buying a console, as well as producing for this platform requires less investment, on average.

While the announcement of the PC version represents a step back from Blizzard, bringing a “Diablo” to mobile after 10 years without new titles is a brave move.

According to consultancy Newzoo, the mobile games market will represent 51% of the sector this year, moving about US$ 103 billion. In Brazil, 48.3% of gamers prefer the cell phone as a means of consuming games, an increase of 6.7 percentage points compared to last year’s survey, according to the Games Brasil 2022 Survey.

“I believe ‘Diablo Immortal’ is going to change what a lot of people think about mobile games,” Wyatt Cheng, who was also director of “Diablo III,” told The Washington Post. “That was one of our goals from the beginning. We’re going to raise the bar for what people can expect from a mobile game.”

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unsighted

(Nintendo Switch, PS 4/5, PC, Xbox One/S/X)

Inspired by “The Legend of Zelda”, “Metroid”, “Castlevania” and “Dark Souls”, “Unsighted” narrates a world whose main non-renewable resource is running out, and salvation depends on a black android. developed by Studio Pixel Punk appeared in the list of the ten best of 2021 by Polygon, one of the main vehicles about games.

update

news, launches, business and what else matters

• “Modern Warfare 2”, the next game in the Call of Duty franchise, will be released on October 28 this year. The Activision Blizzard game is a sequel to the 2019 reboot. The title will be cross-platform, despite the publisher being bought by Microsoft earlier this year for $68.7 billion.
• Esports tournament organizer ESL has announced that the upcoming “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” (CS:GO) world championship will be held in Brazil. Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Rio Major 2022 starts October 31 in Rio de Janeiro. The event will bring together 24 teams and will have a total prize pool of US$ 1 million.
• The next State of Play, Sony’s event dedicated to the announcement of new titles for PlayStation, will be held this Thursday (2) at 19:00 (Brasilia time). The broadcast takes place in the wake of the Summer Game Fest, which takes place on the 9th. Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda Showcase event is set for the 12th.
• Polish producer CD Projekt more than doubled its profit in the first quarter of this year. Supported by a resumption of sales of “Cyberpunk 2077” after months of fixing flaws in the title, the company’s net profit jumped 112% to 68.9 million zlotys ($16 million).
• Electronic Arts has announced the game “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor”, a sequel to “Jedi: Fallen Order”, released in 2019. Scheduled for 2023, the new title will take place five years after the events of the first and will also have Cal Kestis as a protagonist.

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games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worth it

01.jun

• “Silt”: BRL 71.89 (Nintendo Switch), price not available (PS 4/5, Xbox One/X/S, PC)

02.jun

• “Souldiers: R$45.99 (Nintendo Switch), price not available (PS 4/5, Xbox One/X/S, PC)

Promotions of the week

• The collection “BioShock: The Collection” is free until next Thursday (26) on the Epic Games Store. The pack includes “BioShock”, “BioShock 2” and “BioShock: Infinite” and all additional content.

• The PlayStation Store Days of Play promotion runs until June 8 and has titles such as “Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga”, “Dying Light 2”, “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart” and “Final Fantasy VII” with discount.

readings of the week

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