Diablo Immortal is "Pretty Much Ready" According to Co-Developer NetEase

The upcoming Diablo mobile game may not be too far away from releasing, according to the latest report from Bloomberg. Yang Zhaoxuan, Chief Financial Officer of Diablo Immortal co-developer NetEase, addressed rumors that the game was caught in an approval backlog in China, which was reportedly holding up gaming releases across the market. While the country did tweak the process in which it green-lights new titles, Zhaoxuan says that doesn't mean there is any kind of hold-up to worry about.

In fact, the CFO went as far as saying the mobile game is "pretty much ready," but indicated that Activision-Blizzard would have the final say on when it rolls out to various markets. See below for his comments in full regarding the upcoming release.

From a co-developer’s perspective the game development is pretty much ready. As to the exact launch timetable, I would encourage the market to direct their questions directly to Activision Blizzard.

As previously mentioned, this project is a collaboration between Blizzard and NetEase, with the latter company bringing to the table a history of mobile games development. Ironically, some of the studio's previous efforts already looked to be strongly inspired by the Diablo franchise's gameplay, which may be part of the reason why Blizzard decided to partner up on something more officially licensed.

Diablo Immortal seems like it will keep the spirit of the series alive, featuring all the primary hallmarks you would come to expect from one of these games, such as the online functionality, classes, combat, and dungeon crawling. However, long-time fans of the series were less than thrilled to be receiving a mobile spinoff in lieu of an announcement such as a new mainline Diablo game, which is something we will hopefully hear something about at BlizzCon later this year.

Regardless, it seems like this effort is almost complete, although we are still awaiting an official release date from Activision-Blizzard. On that note, stay tuned to Dead Entertainment for all the latest news and updates on this title as well as the Diablo franchise as a whole.

About the Author

Chris Morse

Programmer by day, writer by night. Having grown up surrounded by plenty of horror movies and video games, it only made sense for Chris to combine all of these passions into one place: Dead Entertainment. Whether he's working on designs, tinkering with the platform, or just writing up the latest horror news, he's sure to be hard at work keeping the wheels turning on this website no matter what time of day it is. When not coding or gaming, you can find him donning a Cheesehead and heading to the Midwest to cheer on his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. #GoPackGo

More Reading

Diablo IV Developers Share Early Look at Sequel’s Itemization

The latest system design discussion is a deep dive into the broader direction the new game is looking to take with its loot.

Blizzard Shares Diablo IV Design Updates, Including Elective Mode Skill Selection

Those who were unable to use the feature in the BlizzCon demo feared it might be excluded in the upcoming new sequel.

Earlier Diablo IV Leak Proves Accurate, Hints at Release Window and Unannounced Classes

The game may be slated to arrive late 2020 or early 2021, at least for now.

BlizzCon 2019: Diablo Immortal Update and Gameplay Trailer

The ongoing event offered another update on the status of the upcoming mobile title and its features.