As the announcement says, the game will be an ‘open beta’ on PC, but it will launch with full cross-play and cross-progression support. We’re not getting a straight port here, the PC version will have fully optimized controls for home computers. We’ll have traditional Diablo controls with left click to move and right click for actions, but the PC version of Diablo Immortal will also include the standard WSAD directional controls. The game will have full controller support as well.
Answering the question of why the studio decided to release the PC version alongside the mobile version after all, Blizzard said the following: “On one hand, we felt that we wouldn’t be doing the title justice by releasing a game originally designed for mobile on PC. On the other hand, we wanted to make sure the game reached as many players as possible—especially our most dedicated PC fans. In the end, the deciding factor was that we knew many of you would attempt to play this game through an emulator, thus leading us towards building a better experience.”
So, essentially, the PC version is some kind of an experiment. “We didn’t originally plan to put this game on desktop,” they said. “But as soon as it became a possibility, we knew we had to take the time to make it happen”. The game was initially announced back in 2018 and was immediately met with controversy as the fans expected Diablo 4. That game was revealed the following year and we will have to wait for its launch until (at least) 2023.
Diablo Immortal arrives on iOS, Android, and PC (in open beta) on June 2.