Overview

#DiabloImmortal became a meme November 2018 when Blizzard announced a mobile-only Diablo game at BlizzCon—after teasing Diablo news. PC fans booed. When asked “Is this an out-of-season April Fool’s joke?”, Blizzard responded: “Do you guys not have phones?” The tone-deaf response became the poster child for misreading your audience.

The Backlash

Fans expected Diablo 4 or Diablo 2 Remastered. Got: outsourced mobile game by NetEase (Chinese developer). The reveal trailer YouTube dislikes outnumbered likes 10:1. Blizzard deleted and reuploaded. “Don’t you guys have phones?” became instant copypasta mocking corporate cluelessness.

The Redemption (??)

Diablo Immortal launched June 2022, earned $24M first week, hit $525M by October 2022. Critics: beautiful game ruined by predatory monetization ($100K+ to max character). Metacritic: 79 critic, 0.5 user. Banned in Belgium/Netherlands for gambling. Diablo 4 (2023) tried to distance itself. The quote lives forever.

Sources:

• BlizzCon 2018 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly10r6m_-n8
• Sensor Tower revenue: https://sensortower.com/