diablo: immortal cinematic, blizzcon 2018

It did so with a mere 30-second teaser that told us nothing about the game, but instead of walking away from that E3 presser wondering what kind of implications Fallout 76 had for the future of Bethesda's single-player series, I immediately knew that this was more of an experimental spin-off because of that Elder Scrolls VI announcement. Bethesda knew that the announcement of a multiplayer, always-online Fallout game was a risky one, so it ended its show by confirming that The Elder Scrolls VI is in development. And just like Diablo Immortal, Fallout 76 represents a fairly radical departure from the franchise it takes its name from. Fallout 76 was unquestionably the marquee announcement of Bethesda's press event, just as Diablo Immortal was for BlizzCon. I'm reminded of how Bethesda handled the announcement of Fallout 76 back at E3 in June.

I don't think any us expected Diablo 4 to be announced once that statement was made, but when Diablo skipped BlizzCon 2017 entirely, can you really blame us for hoping for something a little more substantial than a mobile spin-off? I was personally hoping to see something about a Diablo 2 remaster, which I think would have been the perfect palate cleanser for people who aren't interested in Diablo Immortal. I've seen some people blaming the fans for getting their hopes up after Blizzard also said that Diablo 4 wouldn't be at BlizzCon 2018. Blizzard confirmed back in August that it has multiple Diablo projects in the works, so why were they all missing in action during the company's biggest event of the year? I might even like it! For me, though, the problem with Friday's announcement is that this mobile game was the only thing that received any stage time.

So no, I don't begrudge Blizzard for announcing a Diablo mobile game, and I'll probably take it for a spin myself when it comes out.

Diablo: immortal cinematic, blizzcon 2018