Turns out Diablo Immortal, the mobile spin-off that's garnered its fair share of controversy, is heading to PC as well.
The action RPG will be making its way to PC in open beta on June 2, the same day as its full release on iOS and Android. There'll also be cross-play and cross-progression between both platforms, so you can play on the go and then pick up where you left off on your desktop. It's a surprise move considering Blizzard had focused so heavily on perfecting the game for mobile. The game's initial announcement irked an awful lot of Diablo fans, which came at a time when many were expecting news on the much-anticipated Diablo 4. The reveal faced hefty backlash with fans accusing Blizzard of forgetting its roots, calling it a "slap in the face" and claiming that Blizzard had "spit in the faces" of the community.
Blizzard said it "went back and forth" on the decision to port the game over to PC, but had a feeling that PC Diablo fans "would attempt to play this game through an emulator," which swayed the decision to go ahead with the port. The developer seems keen not to piss in anyone's cornflakes again with a blog post outlining everything from the initial decision-making to all the ways it's trying to "stay true to the Diablo experience" with traditional PC controls.
On June 2, Hell is everywhere. 📱 iOS & Android💻 PC Open BetaPre-register: https://t.co/hKUMmROvQI pic.twitter.com/BoC4tDL7KqApril 25, 2022
Along with the bog-standard "left-click to move" controls, Blizzard has also added WASD for movement since it felt like "an intuitive way to move your character around, instead of relentlessly left-clicking for both moving and attacking." There's also the ability to rebind keys as well as controller support. Though HUD elements have been upscaled for PC, Blizzard said it's largely kept the interfaces identical so it could ship the two versions at the same time. The blog post wrapped up by warning veteran Diablo likers that "the result will feel a little different from other PC Diablo games," calling the mobile port "an experiment from Blizzard."
Luke Winkie gave Diablo Immortal's technical alpha a whirl back in late 2020, finding it a lot of fun despite being mired in controversy. "Diablo Immortal feels good enough that I suspect that anyone who gives it a try will see their old BlizzCon angsts atrophy away," he wrote in his preview. "This is not a watered-down alternative or a poor facsimile, it's just Diablo in a different format."
