Four years after it was revealed, Blizzard has begun shedding more light on the release of Diablo: Immortal. Not only will it be launching on mobile platforms June 2, but it will also be making the move over to PC. On the same day, an open beta for the PC version will begin and players will be able to cross-play between the two versions. This reveal is in stark contrast to the controversial unveiling of Diablo: Immortal in 2018, and it may be a sign of what is to come with Blizzard's other mobile titles.

It is no secret that the announcement of Diablo: Immortal in 2018 was rife with controversy. The Diablo fanbase had been waiting for a new mainline Diablo game since the launch of Diablo 3 in 2012, but what Blizzard gave them instead was a mobile title. It was penned as the next Diablo title and was being marketed to a fanbase that was mostly PC based. After much outcry and years of development, Blizzard has made the decision to release it on PC as well, and the upcoming Warcraft mobile title should follow suit.

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Diablo: Immortal's Announcement Was Less than Stellar

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The announcement of Diablo: Immortal has become infamous over the years for many reasons. Many fans considered the mobile title to be an out-of-season April fools' joke, and Blizzard's responses were not helping to quell the flames. It is where the now iconic "Do you guys not have phones?" meme came from, and the fan base was not happy. People saw it as a way for Blizzard to get as much money out of Diablo as it could without delivering a new PC title. It was not until a year later that Blizzard unveiled both Diablo 2: Resurrected and Diablo 4, which helped to appease the community even if the damage had already been done.

The Diablo franchise is very much a PC-focused franchise, just like every other Blizzard series. Announcing a mobile title went against that, and mobile titles have received criticism for their predatory microtransactions, which many believe Blizzard will include. It felt like a slap in the face to fans, and many had tried to forget it even existed. Now, players have been checking out Diablo 2: Resurrected and looking forward to Diablo 4, with the mobile title lurking in the shadows.

Blizzard has finally unveiled when Diablo: Immortal will be hitting the app store along with the surprise announcement that it will be launching on PC. While the game has been built for mobile platforms, releasing it on PC is a huge move for Blizzard and a long ways from its "Do you guys not have phones?" exclamation. If Blizzard is willing to release its first strictly mobile title on PC, then the Warcraft mobile game that is being announced next month could surely follow.

Warcraft Fans Have Not Received a Warcraft Title In Years

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The last time the Warcraft fan base was given a fully fledged title in the Warcraft universe was in 2004 with World of Warcraft. The game has had a steady stream of content with eight expansions, and soon to be nine, over its lifespan. Along with that, Blizzard released Hearthstone in 2014, which serves as a spin-off title in the Warcraft universe but is considered non-canon. Even with all of that content, fans of the franchise have been looking for a brand-new game for years. This May, Blizzard will be sharing a look at a brand-new title set in Azeroth, but it is a mobile title.

Not much is known about the mobile title yet, but it will serve as the first new Warcraft-themed title in eight years, or 18 years if fans do not consider Hearthstone a Warcraft title. It is unclear if the game will be canon to the franchise or its own thing, but fans of Warcraft have already started to fear the worst for this game. However, if Blizzard is willing to put Diablo: Immortal on PC, then it should also be willing to release Warcraft mobile on PC in whatever form that game will take.

Much like the Diablo franchise, the Warcraft franchise is a PC-based franchise. Releasing a mobile game in the series is a huge departure from the core of the franchise. Warcraft began all the way back in 1994 and has been chugging along ever since. It has become a staple of PC gaming, and releasing a mobile-only title would take away from that. Fans of the franchise will have to wait and see what this Warcraft mobile game will look like, but Blizzard should not relegate it to only mobile platforms when it releases.

Diablo: Immortal will be available on Android, iOS, and PC on June 2, 2022.

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