With this controversy fresh on people's minds, perhaps Blizzcon will garner Blizzard some extra goodwill in China even as rumors swirl about the possibility that attendees will protest on behalf of Blitzchung and Hong Kong.īut Diablo Immortal might not end up being a big draw.

And the Warcraft movie that was seen as a massive flop in the West brought in US$225 million at the box office in China.īlizzard's reputation was also recently boosted in China when the company decided to punish Hearthstone tournament player Blitzchung for yelling out a Hong Kong protest slogan at the end of an interview. When World of Warcraft Classic launched, more than 1 million people logged in to relive the glory days of the original game. It has several games that have found success in the country, but none more so than the Warcraft franchise. With clones floundering, it's unclear how much more people will like an official mobile Diablo game. But the long wait could also be hurting what's seen as Diablo Immortal's target market. Some see it as a good sign that Blizzard is taking the time to improve the game, after its disastrous debut at one point, the game's trailer had over a million dislikes on YouTube. With there still being no hint of a release date, fans in China are perplexed. So far, so normal - except the game's co-developer, China's NetEase, said in an earnings call back in February that it had finished developing the game. Hardcore gamers in the West took Diablo Immortal as a sign that Blizzard was focusing on China's mobile market instead of them.Ī year on, and Blizzard is apparently set to unveil an update on the game's development, according to gaming analyst Daniel Ahmad. The announcement of a mobile version of the hit Diablo series was met by a chorus of boos and anger at last year's Blizzcon. The mobile Diablo game will get an update at Blizzcon, but clones fell flat in China and reception in the West has been poor

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