Diablo Immortal will be coming to PC despite Blizzard’s initial resistance to the idea, so it’s possible that WoW could come to Xbox as well.
Diablo Immortal, the latest dungeon crawler in the iconic Diablo series from Blizzard, will be available on PC at launch, and it gives hope to those who have hoped to see World of Warcraft come to Game Pass. Diablo Immortal will be the first Diablo game specifically developed for mobile devices, prompting an intense backlash to its announcement at BlizzCon 2018. After a lengthy development and several release delays, Diablo Immortal will be free-to-play on mobile and PC on June 2, 2022. With Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard and Diablo Immortal‘s PC release, it seems possible that the dream of World of Warcraft on Xbox could become a reality.
Blizzard developed Diablo Immortal for PC because the developer understood that players on PC would use emulators to play the game anyway, and wanted to create its own version to optimize the experience for PC players. If Blizzard recognizes the value in bringing a mobile-only Diablo game to PC, it could also see the value in bringing World of Warcraft to Game Pass and the Xbox ecosystem.
Blizzard may recognize the lucrative opportunities in bringing World of Warcraft to Xbox. According to a blog post on Blizzard’s official website, Blizzard went the extra mile in developing a PC-ready version of Diablo Immortal. Meanwhile, Microsoft has its own incentives to bringing World of Warcraft over to Xbox Game Pass. World of Warcraft is one of the most successful MMORPG properties of all time, and is currently only available on PC and macOS. Microsoft announced earlier this year its intent to purchase Activision Blizzard, meaning Microsoft will own World of Warcraft, future Diablo games, and a wealth of other video game series after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft has also expanded its Xbox Game Pass to PC players in the form of its PC Game Pass, bringing PC players an extensive library of its games through the subscription service. With Activision Blizzard’s pending acquisition, it would make sense for World of Warcraft to arrive on Xbox Game Pass alongside its PC versions. An Xbox version of the game hasn’t been announced, but the developer certainly has the potential means and incentive to make an Xbox version of World of Warcraft a reality.
An Xbox version of World of Warcraft would be a literal game-changer. World of Warcraft has been exclusive to personal computers since its release in 2004, and continues to release new expansions like World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. The game has a fiercely loyal fanbase, and would see massive spikes in players if it was made available to Xbox players. As Blizzard prepares to release Diablo Immortal on multiple platforms, it could only be a matter of time before World of Warcraft makes its way to Xbox consoles everywhere.
Source: Blizzard
James Tyson is a Gaming Features author. He is an avid movie, TV, games, and comics fan, and is obsessed with how those medium intersect. His current obsession is Marvel’s Avengers, and he will die on that hill.
