Things don’t seem good for Diablo Immortal, at least not in China. According to Reuters, the internet and gaming giant NetEase delayed Diablo Immortal’s Chinese release just three days ahead of its official launch.
Interestingly this “unexpected” move came after the game's official account on Weibo was banned from making new posts.
Diablo Immortal has had its release date delayed in China.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 19, 2022
Was originally set to launch June 23 but is now delayed to optimize the experience according to NetEase. https://t.co/4htmKRm4Q8
NetEase said on Sunday that they were making some improvements to the game-play experience and conducting "multiple optimization adjustments” before the games’ launch, nonetheless, they did not provide a new launch date.
As expected the company didn’t mention the social media ban, after all, Diablo Immortal’s launch is being closely watched to size the government's attitude towards the game mechanics after the Chinese video games market was hit with regulatory crackdowns last year.
Risky Launch
The worst part of this delay? NetEase is already suffering large losses with its shares falling more than 9% this Monday after the announcement.
Diablo Immortal was already released in other territories on June 2nd and has earned over $24 million during its first two weeks. Sadly with its fairly earned bunch of controversies regarding its abusive loot box mechanics.
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