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NetEase delays highly anticipated release of Diablo Immortal in big setback for China’s No 2 gaming company amid ongoing Weibo ban
- The company said it would indefinitely postpone the release of the China version of the game, citing a need to adjust and optimise it for Chinese players
- A Weibo account for the game has been banned from posting for “violation of relevant laws and regulations”
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China’s second-largest video gaming company NetEase said it will indefinitely postpone the launch of Diablo Immortal, a highly anticipated instalment of the 25-year-old Diablo franchise, for gamers in mainland China.
NetEase shares tumbled 10 per cent during the Monday morning session in Hong Kong following the announcement of the postponement on Sunday.
NetEase said the game, which received a licence in China as early as February and was slated to launch on June 23, is in need of adjustment and optimisation to give better experiences to Chinese players. The decision came after the official account for the game was banned from posting on Weibo due to “violation of relevant laws and regulations”.
An Asia-Pacific version of the game will launch on July 8 instead of the originally scheduled June 22. An international version debuted two weeks ago and has already generated around US$24 million for the studio, according to Appmagic, a system tracking gaming-app performance.
The company did not disclose a revised launch date for the Chinese version in a separate post on Sunday.
Beijing-based NetEase, the second-largest video gaming company in mainland China after Tencent, co-developed the game with US-based Blizzard Entertainment.
Yaling Jiang is a Shanghai-based technology reporter at the Post. She previously covered consumer-facing businesses that include fashion, beauty, art and food with a focus on China. Before graduating from Columbia Journalism School, she had been a translator in her previous career.
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