Blizzard president J. Allen Brack insists the company can make quality mobile titles.
In an interview with GameSpot, Brack discussed the decision to bring Diablo Immortal to mobile devices.
Initially announced at BlizzCon 2018 - Diablo Immortal received a negative response from fans.
Diablo isn't the company's first IP to come to mobile devices. Hearthstone, the widely popular free-to-play card game is also available on phones and tablets.
"I think the thing that we did a poor job of when we announced Diablo: Immortal was contextualizing what we think the future can be and what we think of mobile in particular. And I also think the key thing that was lost, that we did a poor job double emphasizing, is we are a PC developer first," said Brack.
"If we think about what mobile was going to be for Blizzard in the future, we think that mobile doesn't have to be a lesser-quality experience. We think that we can make Blizzard-quality games.
"We think that we can have Blizzard values around monetization, and we think it can be a great experience. And Diablo: Immortal is a game that we've been working on for quite a few years at this point, and we're happy with how it's coming along. We're looking forward to having the players see it whenever it's ready to go."
Learning to make a top-notch mobile game
The exec may understand why long-time fans of the franchise were disappointed, but he is adamant that the publisher and developer can create successful mobile titles.
"Some mobile games are very good, and some mobile games are incredibly crappy," said Brack
"Just like every other platform, and we do think there is an opportunity for players to play and enjoy the games that are at a very high quality level, that we really like, that we really believe in, in the Blizzard IP. That's the lens for Diablo Immortal.
"But, if we didn't think that we could make great games on a mobile platform, we wouldn't do it. Mobile games have been out for quite a while and Hearthstone is the only one that we have done so far.
"What has made it take so long is figuring out how we were going to find the Blizzard way of making a great mobile game."
Brack became the firm’s president last year after Mike Morhaime stepped down after 27 years in charge of the Overwatch creator.
