Blizzard Delays Diablo Immortal Launch In China Following Reportedly Being Blocked On Social Media Platform Weibo

Blizzard is not having the best time with Diablo Immortal, it would seem. That’s probably not the most shocking news to have ever hit the internet, although, at least one of the reasons might be. Despite the game and its model seemingly being made to appeal to Chinese audiences, the developer has announced they will be delaying its launch in the country. The reason given was that the developer needed extra time to enhance content. What that enhancement entails hasn’t been made clear. Nor has when players can expect it.

The news has had a negative impact on NetEase, which is handling the publishing of the game in China. Following a post on the game’s official site, the company’s stocks dropped about 11% in the Hong Kong Seng Tech index. According to MassivelyOP, this is the biggest drop the company has seen in nine months.

Interestingly enough, this announcement comes after the game WAS reportedly being blocked on Chinese social media Weibo. The ban was apparently for violating “laws and regulations”, which is a fairly broad area when it comes to China. This may or may not have anything to do with the delay. It seems a bit unlikely as far as game development-related stuff goes, but Blizzard may have been counting on that social media action for heavy promotion of the game at launch.

That said, in addition to delaying the game in China, Blizzard also announced they would push the game’s launch back in other Asia-Pacific areas. These delays come with a date, though – July 8.

The Diablo Immortal news doesn’t really stop there, however. As many of you probably know by now, the game has a pretty high-cost monetization scheme – something that streamers have been going out of their to prove by spending an insane amount of money in the game while streaming it for viewers to witness. One such person is Quin69. The streamer spent almost $16,000 USD of money given to him by followers on Legendary Crests. These items increase the drop rate of rare gear, including Gems. Quin decided he was going to obtain the 5-Star gem using the premium currency quests. At the end, he did get it, and then he dramatically quit the game. First deleting it and then, at the prompting of his followers, reinstalling it just long enough to destroy the gem and delete his character before flipping Blizzard the bird on stream.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.