We all know it’s coming
Blizzard ended last Friday’s BlizzCon keynote on an announcement that earned immediate derision from the majority of the developer’s fans.Diablo Immortal, an action RPG on mobile, was the clincher. As the reaction over the weekend has certainly confirmed, many manymanypeople did not want a mobileDiabloto serve as BlizzCon’s major reveal.
There was nearly a bigger announcement that would’ve taken some of the heat off ofDiablo Immortal. According toKotaku, Blizzard was intent to end the BlizzCon keynote with a quick video from co-founder Allen Adham where he would tell the viewers thatDiablo 4is in development but that it wasn’t yet ready to be shown off.
However, Blizzard backed away from those plans in recent weeks. Kotaku’s sources say that theDiabloteam wasn’t comfortable committing to a proper reveal, even one as soft as a simple confirmation that the game is being made. That’s becauseDiablo 4has evidently undergone major direction changes over the past few years. Those closest and most influential to the project seemingly aren’t confident that its design is cemented.
Blizzard knew what kind of reaction was coming. Otherwise, what reason would there be for thepublic request in Octoberthat fans temper their expectations? But it was backed into a corner at that point. Without theDiablo 4bombshell,Diablo Immortalis all theDiabloit had left. ADiablomobile game was never going to satisfy the series’ most hardcore players. That doesn’t mean it won’t be wildly successful, though.
Lost in the cacophony of disappointment is the fact that Blizzard has implicitly all but confirmedDiablo 4‘s existence for years now. That aforesaid October request mentioned that Blizzard is working on “multipleDiabloprojects.” Every so often, there’s ajob listingthat pops up for an unannouncedDiablogame. Blizzard is clearly still making moreDiablo.
But, Blizzard works on Blizzard time. An announcement wouldn’t mean anything was imminent. It’d still (likely) be years beforeDiablo 4ever released. Waiting is an expected part of the process when it comes to Blizzard.Diablo 4is coming but Blizzard isn’t going to rush it.
