Diablo isn’t just about slaying demons for epic loot. Ok, the franchise is mostly about that, but it’s also about the story of the oncoming apocalypse. And the social aspect of slaying demons for epic loot. Diablo’s next game, Diablo Immortal, is all about storytelling and teaming up with friends and strangers, all while saving the world from demons that inexplicably drop legendary helmets and gold.
Blizzard has teamed up with NetEase Games to create Diablo Immortal, a mobile Diablo experience. Yes, I know, Diablo just came out on the Switch, but not everyone wants to spend $300 on a console with extremely limited storage space (seriously, Diablo 3 takes up half the game’s hard drive). Diablo Immortal is a truly mobile game for those who love to play on the go with their smartphones.
While Diablo Immortal looks like many other mobile action RPGs, it apparently features all of the polish of any Blizzard game, and more importantly, it delves into the untold histories of the Diablo franchise. If you ever wanted to know what a particular character was up to between Diablo 2 or 3 or how a certain group got started, Diablo Immortal will answer those questions. The game will take place between Diablo 2 and 3 and fill in some gaps in our knowledge of the franchise.
Even though the Diablo franchise is named after the titular Prime Evil Diablo, he’s hardly the game world’s only big bad. If anything, as the youngest of the Prime Evils, he may be the weakest, but that won’t stop the (new) demon Skarn from trying to resurrect him. To stop Skarn, players will journey across various locales, including the classic Frozen Tundra and the new jungle island Bilefen. Diablo Immortal won’t just pay lip service to old Diablo games with lands both new and old, though. Players will be able to meet (and kill) characters and creatures from the franchise’s history.
Now, you probably wonder just how social Diablo Immortal will be. It will function much like an MMORPG. Players will be able to team up with others in open area locales, but the game will also feature more than a few instanced dungeons. We can kind of consider Diablo Immortal as World of Diablo but with all of Diablo 3’s classes (minus the Witch Doctor) and played from an isometric viewpoint. Gamers can expect more classes over time —here’s hoping the Bard, Druid, and Amazon return to the game. Heck, we might even see some classes (and class abilities) that have never been in a Diablo game.
We will keep our eyes peeled for more information on this game as it becomes available. Regrettably, we have no idea when it will be released, but here’s hoping for 2019.
*Edit*
During the Diablo Immortal Q&A panel, Lead Game Designer Wyatt Cheng confirmed Blizzard has not worked out a business model for the game. Diablo Immortal could be a free-to-play title with microtransactions, or it could be a buy-to-play game.
