Diablo Immortal surprise-launches early on mobile

By Jesse Lennox Published June 1, 2022

Diablo Immortal has appeared on U.S. mobile storefronts ahead of the planned June 2 launch date.

Despite Activision Blizzard formally announcing the release date for Diablo Immortal as June 2, and even tweeting out a map of global release times, the game has already begun showing up to download in the U.S. This is only true for the mobile version of the game, and it currently only seems to be available in this one region so far.

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After the surprise launch was discovered, Blizzard confirmed that this was intentional and that the PC version would launch, as previously planned, on June 2.

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The release times tweet did state that players “may see it populate on servers even sooner,” however gave no indication that it could be a full day earlier than expected. A pinned comment on the Diablo Immortal official Discord server, on the other hand, did imply this would be the case. The comment, posted on May 28, states that “As we note in our blog iOS and Android players will start to see Diablo Immortal propagate on their respective stores on the morning of 6/1. We don’t exactly know who will see it first or in what order of those who will see it. We expect this to be fairly early in the morning that this process will start (Pacific Time).”

It isn’t often that game releases are pushed forward, even if it is only by just a day, so this is a welcome surprise for anyone looking forward to giving Diablo Immortal a shot. While this currently only applies to players in the U.S, we anticipate other regions will start seeing it appear over the course of the day as well, except for the Netherlands and Belgium where the game will not launch due to their laws against lootboxes.

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Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

Gaming

Activision Blizzard fined over Diablo Immortal’s microtransactions

Diablo Immortal's main screen on the Asus ROG Phone 5.

Activision Blizzard is being fined by the PEGI (Pan-European Game Information) Complaints Board and Enforcement Committee over the inclusion of microtransactions in its 2022 mobile game Diablo Immortal.

This news comes just after Nintendo got sued in North America over its implementation of loot box microtransactions in Mario Kart Tour. However, this decision comes from the European game ratings board PEGI after a reassessment of Diablo Immortal's rating. Activision Blizzard, along with Hunt: Showdown Bounty Hunter -- Limited Edition publisher Plaion, got fined over not properly disclosing the presence of microtransactions in their games when disclosing information to PEGI for a game rating. That's a shocking omission in Diablo Immortal's case, considering just how much it entices players to spend money on the game.
"Both games were published in 2022 and although they contain paid random items (like loot boxes or card packs), this was not disclosed to PEGI when the games were submitted for a rating license," a description of the case says. "Since this amounts to a violation of the rules described in the PEGI Code of Conduct, the PEGI Enforcement Committee sanctioned both companies with a fine of 5000€. The companies had also taken immediate action to update relevant store listings and marketing materials."
A fine of only 5,000 Euros is an extremely small drop in the bucket for a company like Activision Blizzard; Diablo Immortal alone was estimated to be making $1 million a day around its launch by Appmagic. Still, it's a noteworthy slap on the wrist and will hopefully encourage companies like Activision Blizzard to be more open and honest about the presence and relevance of microtransactions in their games.

Gaming

PlayStation and Xbox are betting big on mobile, and for good reason

The Backbone One - PlayStation Edition has a phone in it.

Sony surprised PlayStation fans August 29 when it acquired Savage Game Studios, a mobile game developer. As part of this announcement, Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst unveiled the company's new PlayStation Studios Mobile Division that "will operate independently from our console development and focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP." The news comes in the wake of the Backbone One -- PlayStation Edition's launch and Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition that will also bring Candy Crush developer King and Blizzard mobile games into Xbox Game Studios. It's clear that the big console players are investing more than ever in mobile.
That might sound like a shocking development, especially for hardcore console and PC players who aren't fans of mobile games for various reasons, including predatory monetization practices. But when you take a step back and look at the reality of mobile gaming, it's entirely clear why two of the biggest names in console gaming want to spread their reach to an even more global and lucrative market -- especially as overseas markets further embrace mobile as a gaming platform of choice.
Finding their knack for mobile
Focusing on console and PC gaming makes it easy to forget just how big mobile gaming is. After Microsoft's announcement of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Omdia Principal Analyst George Jijiashvili told Digital Trends that while consumer spending on PC and console gaming is predicted to reach $62 billion this year, mobile game players will spend $111 billion overall in 2022. "If we look at our forecast for 2025, we expect the spend on console and PC games to remain relatively flat," Jijiashvili said. "However, mobile gaming is set to grow considerably." Jijiashvili's estimations also don't even consider cloud gaming, which is prevalent on mobile and is expected to grow in the coming years.

Jijiashvili highlighted that console gaming would stay healthy but somewhat stagnant as players from previous generations upgrade to PS5 and Xbox Series X. Meanwhile, he says PC gaming is falling out of favor in Asia, highlighting that a game like PUBG sees most resources assigned to the mobile game before they come over to the PC and console versions. Before the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Jijiashvili believed Xbox "desperately lacked" a strong foothold in the mobile gaming market, and it's easy for us to see that the same currently applies to PlayStation prior to the Savage Game Studios acquisition. For how important PlayStation and Xbox were to console players, companies like King and Zynga meant much more to mobile gamers for a long time.
On top of that, mobile gaming also expands these game companies' reach to an even bigger audience. Yes, over 20 million PS5 and 117 million PS4 consoles are out there, but especially in Asian markets, mobile games will give PlayStation and Xbox much more exposure. Of course, Jijiashvili points out that just having mobile studios doesn't immediately guarantee success, as Asian mobile players favor "more hardcore games from the battle royale and MOBA genres, which have achieved great popularity and deliver strong performance." Still, Xbox and PlayStation will soon have a stronger foothold than ever on platforms and in regions where gamers playing on PC or console isn't as prevalent.
It's worth noting that both Xbox and PlayStation do have some history on mobile -- just not very successful ones. Microsoft had Windows Phones, tried to shove SmartGlass features into early Xbox One exclusives, and is currently making great strides in console gaming via the cloud on mobile. Meanwhile, PlayStation franchises like Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, and even Knack (Knack's Quest, ladies and gentlemen) got mobile games under the "PlayStation Mobile" banner in the 2010s. These acquisitions showed renewed interest in developing games exclusively made for mobile. While we can't predict Microsoft's long-term plans for King as the Activision Blizzard deal still isn't finished, Hulst made Savage Game Studios' position within PlayStation Studios very clear.

Gaming

Tower of Fantasy beginner’s guide: 9 tips and tricks to get started

Two characters sitting on a grassy cliff.

Launching as a free MMORPG on both mobile and PC, Tower of Fantasy comes out of the gate swinging with tons of content. One look at this bright, stylized game might make you think it's just a ripoff of Genshin Impact, and while there are certainly some similarities, Tower of Fantasy has an entire set of systems and mechanics all its own. The game will do its best to ease you into the experience, but there are plenty of things the game either glosses over or outright doesn't tell you that are vital to a smooth first few hours in this new world that blends fantasy and sci-fi elements together

Between combat, exploration, puzzle-solving, and more, Tower of Fantasy has a lot to take in when first embarking on your new adventure. Depending on how much experience you have with other MMOs, or gacha games in particular, your experience coming to grips with this game will be heavily swayed. That doesn't mean players new to the genre shouldn't try out this hit new title, though, which is why we've come up with some essential tips and tricks that can help players of all skill levels get started with Tower of Fantasy.