The backlash to the 2018 release of the mobile game Diablo Immortal was downright ferocious, beyond even Blizzard's expectations, and Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham tried to see the reaction as merely a reflection of the "passion" fans feel for the game. While Adham tried to be positive that this was merely a reflection of the "passion" that fans feel for the game, complaints such as "they just spit in our faces" speak for themselves.

By all accounts, it does not appear that Blizzard or its parent company, Activision, intends to revisit its mobile strategy. In fact, Activision Blizzard CFO Dennis Durkin said during the Q&A section of today's quarterly earnings call that the success of "Call of Duty Mobile," released in October 2019, is proof that Activision is on the right track with its mobile strategy.

"There's more to come on mobile, CoD Mobile is off to a really great start, but we've only scratched the surface of what this franchise can be on mobile. And we know that integrating the experience across multiple platforms is an incredible opportunity for this franchise," Durkin said in response to a question about how Diablo Immortal will be affected by CoD Mobile.

"But the early success [of Call of Duty: Mobile] provides incredible evidence to the question of how the franchise strategy is actually working. And that applies to many of our other franchises as well. Players who are playing now are looking for ways to get more involved with their favorite IPs, whether on mobile or other platforms, and we believe we can drive higher engagement by providing authentic and truly profound experiences on new platforms. And this quarter's results really show that.

The addition of free-to-play games on mobile and other platforms is not "cannibalization," Durkin noted: "Free-to-play can coexist with other business models and be a meaningful addition to a franchise.

"So these proof points are relevant to our entire portfolio," he said.

"And to your question, it's not just Diablo, it's all of our franchises, and our team sees opportunities to drive ever greater reach, engagement, and player investment across our franchises.

According to Activision, Blizzard plans to expand internal testing of Diablo Immortal with a company-wide playtest in the coming weeks. However, a release date has not yet been announced.