The event was immortalized in memes and mockery, much of which was rooted in disappointed fans' expectations: Fans attending BlizzCon 2018 were expecting "Diablo 2 Resurrected" announcements. But it also stemmed from a lingering stigma around mobile games in the West, where adoption of D2R Items smartphones as gaming platforms is much slower than the rest of the world.
Since then, "Diablo Immortal" has increased its popularity, since alpha and beta tests showed the game was an incredibly full-on, timeless Diablo experience. (It was also a factor in the fact that Blizzard decided to bring this game on PC.) This Diablo series is one of the most influential in modern game design, and has a reputation for introducing gameplay loops that focus on acquiring randomized "loot" to help your character become more powerful. "Diablo 2," released in the last few months and updated, established the gameplay loop, whereas "Diablo 3," which Cheng was also working on, simplified and enhanced it.
While the events of 2018 were tough for Cheng and his team, Cheng said it only strengthened their determination to prove "Immortal" a game worthy to be part of the Diablo series, and its free-to-play launch on mobile devices brings the series to its largest possible audience to date. The game is scheduled to launch on June 2.
Cheng's enthusiasm about the project was evident in a recent interview. "I do believe that 'Diablo: Immortal' is going to alter a lot of people's views on what they think of as the mobile version of a game," Cheng told The Washington Post. "That was one of our goals since the beginning. Let's set the bar higher for what we can offer players from the mobile games."
"I have three kids and they're all teenagers, and they aren't able to make the same distinction between consoles, computers or mobile," Cheng said. "They enjoy gaming on a variety of platforms."
The game will be able to have the simultaneous launch on PC with full keyboard-and-mouse as well as controller support, as well as cross progression and cross play with mobile support at launch. This was the result of a beta test in which gamers' creators indicated that they'd require an emulated version of the game to display the game on their platforms According to Rod Fergusson, general manager of the Diablo franchise.
"The idea of not having Native support available for PC and content creators wasn't a pleasant thought," he said. The work quickly started to bring parity from mobile to PC, making sure the game operates exactly the same way with user interfaces and control systems specifically designed for desk warriors. Ultimately, the questions from 2018 around why the game even exists changed into questions from fans who wanted to D2 Resurrected Ladder Items know when the game was scheduled to launch -- and begging for a PC port.