Diablo IV also had an official gameplay trailer, of course, but that only has 62K likes; Overwatch 2's cinematic trailer, by comparison, is currently sitting at 229K likes, and even WoW:Shadowlands' trailer has 84K. (Diablo IV's "sub-marined" cinematic, BTW, has 76K likes.) These were the three big announcements of BlizzCon 2019, and it looks like only one is really connecting with fans, or with gamers more broadly; WoW:Shadowlands and Diablo IV both look like they're struggling.
The good news for Blizzard is that neither has been "ratioed" -- their like to dislike ratios are still in the black -- but with relatively low likes and poor engagement, it doesn't look like either is generating the kind of positive buzz that Blizzard were clearly hoping for, and maybe needing. If anything, Shadowlands may be in even more dire straits than D4, with only 9K more likes than D4 and a like:dislike ratio of only 2.9 (D4 has an l:d ratio of 19.48).
I may be reading too much into these tea leaves, of course, but it sure looks like Blizzard are going to have a tough time winning fans of both games back over. Shadowlands, which already has a release date (on or before Dec. 1st, 2020), is almost certain to be launching first, may not have enough time to woo back fans. And Diablo IV has the long, dark shadow of Diablo III looming over its prospects, and a lot of former fans who've vowed never to buy another Blizzard game ever again after the way that was handled.
And that was before the Blitzchung fiasco, and Blizzard's botched reaction to it, which has former fans from across Blizzard's gaming fandoms also swearing to never support Blizzard again. Oh, and last year's big announcement, Diablo: Immortal? Still not ready, apparently.
In a much quieter fashion than last year, Blizzard kept Diablo Immortal out of the BlizzCon opening ceremony and instead posted an update on its official blog with a trailer as well as new information on the game’s story, its classes and its gameplay.Ouch.
There's still time, of course, but given the extent to which Blizzard seem to have lost their mojo, and with it the trust and goodwill of a good chunk of their player base, it's tough to see how they turn all of this around by any of these products' release dates. Oh, and Overwatch 2? The fact that it's being marketed as a sequel, and not as DLC, seems to be rubbing a few of that game's fans raw, too. Blizzard just can't seem to buy a win, here.
And when you think of what a juggernaut Blizzard has been, how they stood atop the gaming industry like a beloved colossus for so long, the though that they've going from heroes to zeroes seemingly overnight like this just feels weird. It feels like a sign of something, like a change of some kind is in the wind. I don't know what will be changing, exactly, but I can't help but think that we've crossed some kind of tipping point, and can never, ever go back.
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