A lot of current-gen ports seem like a slam dunk for the Switch 2, and you might assume Diablo IV was one of them. But franchise boss Rod Fergusson recently appeared to pour cold water on the idea that the Blizzard game would be coming to Nintendo’s new console anytime soon. While it could run on the hardware, he seems to have concerns about live-service games on a handheld hybrid device.
“It’s nice the Switch 2 has the performance that can run a game like Diablo 4, so yeah, it’s something to look at for sure,” Fergusson said in an interview with Danny Peña’s Gamertag Radio (via VGC). “I think the challenge is less around the hardware and just about how we…you know, live services on Switch have been a little bit challenging in the past.”
The head of the Diablo franchise added that he’s “hopeful that as they launch this June and as we look to the future, that becomes easier and easier, so it makes more sense to put a live service on that platform.” Diablo IV requires an always-online connection even to play its main campaign solo, unlike Diablo III and Diablo II: Resurrected which Fergusson points out are both already on Switch 1 and will be backwards compatible on the new hardware.
His explanation is a bit of an odd one, considering that lots of other live-service games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Rocket League are all on the current Switch. Warframe, a looter shooter with an MMO-lite live-service model very similar to Diablo IV’s, is as well. After all, plenty of people play the Switch in docked mode or in handheld mode within range of their home Wi-Fi.
Regardless of whether Fergusson’s explanation holds any water, it certainly sounds like Blizzard doesn’t currently have any plans to bring Diablo IV to the Switch 2, at least in the console’s first year. That flies in the face of previous rumors that the company had a port in development. Analysts had expected a lot of Microsoft first-party support for the Switch 2 at launch, but so far the company hasn’t announced anything despite its recent multiplatform pivot.
It’s a shame in the case of Diablo IV specifically, given how perfectly suited the action-RPG is to PC gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck and the Rog Ally. Maybe Fergusson is just playing coy not to get ahead of Microsoft’s official plans. Otherwise, it seems like a real missed opportunity as Diablo IV enters its third year ahead of a bunch of new seasonal updates and future expansions.
.
