'Diablo: Immortal' Team Discusses Cross-Play and Future Console Ports

Yesterday, Blizzard kicked off their BlizzCon celebration with some more Diablo news, though it wasn't exactly what many were expecting. With so many leaks and rumors about a new animated show and knowing that the team is hard at work on another new Diablo game, the reveal of the mobile game Immortal was quite the shock.

Because it's something so different than the usual Diablo format, the reaction has been very mixed - not unlike when Blizzard first unveiled Hearthstone years ago. But when gamers - especially hardcore gamers - hear "mobile," instantly excitement wanes which prompted us to ask the team during an interview if there were any plans to extend the Immortal experience beyond Apple and Android products.

With Diablo III on the Nintendo Switch seeing such incredible feedback, it's clear that players do want a Diablo experience on the go. When I asked the team if there were any plans for console ports - including the Switch - in the future, the team didn't shut down the possibility, though it isn't in the cards at this time.

One Diablo Immortal dev told me that because mobile devices are in their fidelity now, with the most recent iPad announcement boasting graphics on par with the Xbox One S, that this platform is one they want to focus on with future releases. Though they couldn't explicitly reveal a detailed future roadmap, they did mention that it could very well happen in the future.

"It's likely, very possible that future titles across the spectrum will have cross-play," said Diablo's Adam Adham. "We're really thinking about approaching it in many different ways." They then added that it was important that this was an all new Diablo experience since Diablo III is already sort of in that portable market space. Though this is a Diablo game, it's not Diablo 4 and they wanted to make that clear when delivering this adventure on the mobile platform.

For those that missed the initial announcement about what the iOS and Android exerpience will have to offer:

"Diablo Immortal takes the series' dark, gothic fantasy world of Sanctuary and inimitable Diablo gameplay, and puts it in your pocket," said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. "With their incredible passion for Diablo and proven mobile expertise, the development team has spawned an ultra-responsive and breathtakingly beautiful mobile game, and we can't wait for players to get their hands on it."