'Diablo Immortal' arrives a day early on iOS and Android

engadget.com:

Diablo fans who have been eager to try the series' first new game in a decade won't need to wait any longer, as long as they're willing to play on mobile. Blizzard has opened up access to Diablo Immortal a day early on iOS and Android. Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson said Blizzard rolled out the mobile version one day before the official release date of June 2nd to give it time "to propagate through all the global stores."

PC players in most regions will still need to wait until tomorrow to dive in. Diablo Immortal will be in open beta on that platform for the time being. Those in some Asia-Pacific countries won't be able to try the PC version until June 22nd, however.

Engadget Weekend Editor Igor Bonifacic tried an early access build and felt that it's Blizzard's best game in years, but had serious reservations about its microtransactions and the monetization approach. In addition, there are randomization elements that could run afoul of loot box bans in Belgium and the Netherlands. As a result, Blizzard won't release the game in those countries.

Diablo Immortal is Blizzard's second mobile game after Hearthstone and its first attempt at bringing an existing series to iOS and Android. Activision Blizzard, spurred by the success of Call of Duty Mobile and its King division, is making a bigger push into mobile games. The company said in 2020 that it has mobile titles in the works for all of its "most important franchises."

Blizzard is planning to release another one later this year. Free-to-play strategy game Warcraft Arclight Rumble will be the first mobile title in the Warcraft series.