Today, This was announced by Blizzard Diablo Immortal will be released on June 2nd for iOS, Android and PC. The PC version came as a surprise when Blizzard had previously said that this new entry in the ARPG dungeon crawlin ‘franchise was built for mobile devices from scratch. But according to Warcraft developer, creating a built-in PC version of the upcoming game made sense after the company concluded that many people would still try to emulate it on PC.
According to a blog post from Blizzard about the just announced PC portthe team struggled with whether or not to create a desktop version of Diablo Immortal. They were worried that simply releasing the mobile game on PC “would not do the title justice.” They reasoned that if they set up a PC port, it would have to include PC-friendly controls and other options. In the end, Blizzard decided to create this PC version of Immortal so it could reach “as many players as possible – especially our most dedicated PC fans.”
Oh, and Blizzard also realized that many people would just use something like the free Android emulator BlueStacks to play Diablo Immortal anyway on their PCs. That experience would be inferior to a custom-built, built-in PC app that Blizzard would have more control over. While both the mobile versions of the game and the PC port will be released for free on June 2, Blizzard calls the PC version an “experiment”, and as such the game will be launched on PC in beta mode and will be updated and improved as Blizzard receives feedback.
Diablo Immortal–first announced back in 2018– will also support cross play and cross progression on all devices so you can continue playing your barbarian at home on your PC or on the train via your phone. The game will also support traditional keyboard and mouse controls on PCs as well as controllers, and will use a modified HUD that should work better and look better on larger screens.
Of course, while many (including myself) are excited to get a native PC port off Diablo Immortalit will probably be difficult for some (also … myself included) to play the game after last year’s lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing after years of investigation, showed stories of several women who were subjected to daily harassment and abuse while working at Activision Blizzard.
Since the trial was announced in December, the fallout has continued and led to people withdrawing, union efforts expanding, and even more lawsuits and investigations against the company and its executives.