Contrary to earlier reports, an announcement for Diablo IV following the reveal of Diablo Immortal was not in the cards according to a statement from Blizzard as reported by IGN.
Diablo Immortal was recently announced at Blizzcon 2018. Rather than being a core Blizzard title for PC & consoles, the game was instead made for mobile devices in partnership with Chinese developer NetEase.
Suffice to say, fans were unenthusiastic at best and outraged at worst at the reveal of the game. One particular gentleman attracted a bit of Internet fame for saying what a lot of Diablo fans were thinking at a Q&A for the title: was this a late April Fool's joke?
The ire of the game's fanbase was further fueled by sources speaking to Kotaku that said a Diablo IV announcement was planned but ultimately canceled at the last minute. However, Blizzard Entertainment released a statement to IGN stating that they didn't pull any announcement from their own gaming convention.
Kotaku's Jason Schreier noted on his Twitter that there may have been a bit of confusion with the timeline in his original piece. His sources stated that a preview video for Diablo IV featuring Allen Adham was indeed planned, but it may very well have not come to fruition or been planned to release at Blizzcon at all. Mr. Schreier continues to affirm that Diablo IV is indeed in development and Blizzard has at least stated that there are several projects from the franchise in the works without naming any specifics.
https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1059622545673125888
The entire Diablo Immortal situation continues to be a sideshow on all fronts. Whether it's fan outrage, outrage at the fan's outrage, or the company's stock dropping over 7%, it seems that Blizzard Entertainment is going to be sailing in rough waters for a little while longer.
Here's hoping we hear some more good Diablo news in the coming weeks and months. Heck, Diablo Immortal might even turn out to be halfway decent. A guy can dream, can't he?
What do you think of the whole Diablo Immortal situation? Do you think Blizzard had planned to announce the fourth core game but canceled those plans? Let us know in the comments below!
