According to CNBC's report, NetEase's stock tumbled over 7% in Hong Kong on Monday, June 20, after the videogame giant decided to delay the release of Diablo Immortal in China.
SHANGHAI, CHINA - MAY 14: Shen Rongjie aka LOT29 of Leeds United competes during the semi-finals of the ePremier League China Tournament 2021 at Wisdom Bay Studio on May 14, 2021 in Shanghai, China.
The videogame company announced its plans that the hyped upcoming game will be postponed from its supposed June 23 release date. However, NetEase has not yet revealed the game's official launch date.
Diablo Immortal is a PC and mobile game that was co-produced by videogame giants Activision Blizzard and NetEase.
According to a post published on the game's official website, the delay resulted from the development team currently making various improvements, such as compatibility for a broad array of devices and several network and performance enhancements.
However, NetEase and Blizzard's decision comes at a critical period for the gaming market in China, which is still recovering from months of regulatory freezes and COVID-19 lockdowns.
CNBC noted that the gaming market had faced a wider regulatory crackdown from China's local technology enterprises, which has ultimately come under scrutiny.
Diablo Immortal's official account on China's Twitter version Weibo has been prohibited from posting on the platform, citing violations of Weibo's laws and regulations.
Blizzard's Diablo franchise is one of its most popular, and releasing it in China would prove to be beneficial since it is one of the world's largest gaming marketplaces.
NetEase could suffer a blow due to the delay since revenue growth slowed in the first quarter of the year.
Read also: Twitch Streamer Spends Over $6,000 on 'Diablo Immortal!' Did He Get 5-star Legendary Gem?
All About Diablo Immortal
Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase created Diablo Immortal as a free-to-play multiplayer online action role-playing video game. The game occurs between Diablo II and Diablo III occurrences in the Diablo series.
Diablo Immortal's primary goal is to reach as many players as possible, but the developers' decision to make the mobile game free-to-play has been met with criticisms at first.
"It was very much an accessibility option," says Joe Grubb, a principal game designer. Having the game on mobile will allow users to play on more visible screens with keyboards that can be remapped to fit everyone's needs.
Particularly, the popular game has been met with negative reviews from users on the website Metacritic. Users have lambasted Diablo Immortal for its microtransactions, arguing that they entail enormous sums of money to play successfully in the game.
One user alleges, "Diablo Immortal uses many, if not all and more, of the most blatant and egregious monetization practices to extract money from you. It is an embarrassment that this game left development with the way it is currently monetized."
Related Article: 'Diablo Immortal' Releases Early to Mobile Gamers - Except for the Netherlands, Belgium?
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
