Last week, Blizzard set tongues wagging with an apparent tease for a Diablo game on Nintendo Switch. The image – of a Diablo night light being repeatedly switched on and off – felt fairly deliberate.
But then, after hours of fan excitement, an official response emerged from within Blizzard apparently designed to dampen down the flames: “As of now, we do not have any current plans to announce Diablo for Switch,” a spokesperson told us.
So, what’s going on? Well, while Blizzard makes its mind up, Eurogamer sources have told us that yes – the project is very much in production. And as you might expect, the game will be a port of Diablo 3.
Our sources could not confirm whether the game’s Reaper of Souls and Rise of the Necromancer expansions will be included – but at this point it would be surprising if they were not.
In its earlier statement, pouring cold water on the rumours, Blizzard described the Twitter post as simply “a fun engagement piece”. Eurogamer sources with knowledge of the project told me they were surprised to see it, as the game’s reveal remains several months off.
So, what did happen last week? It feels like a none-too-subtle social media tease blew up larger than expected – and while Blizzard frequently encourages speculation about its upcoming releases, Nintendo typically does not – and third-party Switch games have often been announced relatively close to their launch.
Sweet dreams. pic.twitter.com/tZvCnjjzWb
— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) February 28, 2018
When contacted for this report, a Blizzard spokesperson told me the company had no new statement to add.