[GameSpot] - Diablo Immortal Delayed To First Half Of 2022

[343iBot]

Diablo Immortal, Blizzard's mobile take on its iconic action-RPG franchise, will now release sometime in the first half of 2022. The game was previously slated to release in 2021.

The game has been undergoing closed Alpha testing, with Blizzard saying in a new blog post that the community has been a "key collaborator" as the development team molds its vision for Diablo Immortal. Based on player feedback, Blizzard is looking to implement numerous improvements to the game like making endgame PvE content more engaging, providing controller support, and iterating on PvP content like the Cycle of Strife.

"However, these changes and additional opportunities to improve our gameplay experience will not be realized in the 2021 timeframe we had previously communicated," Blizzard says. "So, the game is now planned for release in the first half of 2022, which will allow us to add substantial improvements to the whole game."

Blizzard goes on to outline some changes that will be coming to the game. In regards to PvE, Diablo Immortal will be gaining new eight-player raids, while also adjusting the game's current Bounty system and making Challenge Rifts more rewarding. On the PvP side, Blizzard will be tweaking various aspects of the game's Battlegrounds system as well as the faction-based Cycle of Strife. Overall changes to the game's progression systems, like the Paragon system, and weekly XP cap will also be coming.

Though Diablo Immortal will no longer release in 2021, the remastered Diablo 2: Resurrected is still slated to release on September 23 on consoles and PC. Diablo 4 remains in development and does not currently have a release window.

Diablo Immortal's delay comes amidst Blizzard dealing with the fallout from a state of California lawsuit that alleges Activision Blizzard fosters a culture where sexual discrimination and harassment are far too common. In response to Activision Blizzard statements that CEO Bobby Kotick later said were "tone deaf," thousands of current and ex-Blizzard employees signed an open letter demanding change and went as far to stage a walkout. In light of the lawsuit's allegations, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack announced he would be leaving the company.

View the full article