In a subsequent interview with Kotaku, Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham admitted that the company expected some backlash against Diablo Immortal, but 'not to this degree.' Unfortunately, the fierce pushback against the game strongly indicates that Blizzard alienated many longtime fans of the two-decade old series. Some gamers also claimed that Diablo Immortal was merely a reskinned version of NetEase's mobile title Endless of God (also known as Eternal Realm ).

Cheng's dismissive response - in which he asked, 'Do you guys not have phones?' - was also slammed as being tone deaf across social media. The game has already been banned in two countries after falling foul of European gambling laws.Diablo Immortal principal designer Wyatt Cheng was even booed by the audience at BlizzCon after announcing that the game wouldn't be launched on PCs. This isn’t the first launch disruption Diablo Immortal has received. Over 15 million players in the country already pre-registering for the game – a large share of the total 35 million players who preregistered across the globe. But Blizzard will likely be keen to launch the game in China to expand that figure. Diablo Immortal has already generated $24 million through its in-game microtransactions, with the majority of that revenue coming from US and South Korean players. Others were disappointed with the hidden progression caps that punish free-to-play players by arbitrarily lowering their grinding rewards.

Players and critics were quick to lambast the game’s aggressive monetization systems and expensive microtransactions.

The launch of Diablo Immortal has not gone smoothly.

Diablo immortal china reaction