Skip to main content

Report says ‘Diablo III’ is coming to Nintendo Switch despite Blizzard’s denial

Diablo III Opening Cinematic

Earlier this month, fans of Blizzard’s hit dungeon-crawling role-playing game Diablo III got excited when a tweet from the developer seemed to hit at a Nintendo Switch port. The studio quickly denied that the game was in the works, referring to the post as “a fun community engagement piece,” but it now appears this wasn’t actually the case.

According to Eurogamer, Blizzard is indeed working on a port of Diablo III for Nintendo Switch, though it could not confirm whether or not the game would be a “complete” edition containing the extra expansion packs.

With the runaway success of the Nintendo Switch since it launched a year ago, AAA publishers have been working to bring their library of games to the system. Bethesda was among the first to do so with games like Skyrim and Doom releasing last autumn, and Ubisoft even announced a port of its extreme sports game Steep.

The last time a Blizzard game released on a Nintendo platform was all the way back in 2003, and that was a series of ports for the Game Boy Advance. These included the action-adventure shooter Blackthorne, which originally released back in 1994.

Recently, Blizzard has shown interest in consoles again following years of PC and Mac exclusivity. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, and due to the game not requiring an online connection on those platforms, they’re arguably better versions of the game than their PC counterpart. Of course, Overwatch also released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at the same time the game released on PC, but director Jeff Kaplan said it would be “very challenging” to get the multiplayer shooter running on the Switch. Diablo III shouldn’t face this problem, considering that the game is already nearly six years old.

After releasing a new update for the ancient Warcraft III, Blizzard also got fans wondering if a remastered version of the game was on its way. No announcement has been made yet, but the real-time strategy game paired with the Switch’s touch screen seems like a match made in heaven. Given that the Switch is also capable of cross-platform play, it would likely have a sizable multiplayer community, as well.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is getting a miracle Switch port this summer
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition running on Nintendo Switch.

Over the years, a lot of impressive native Nintendo Switch ports have happened. Games like Doom, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Alien: Isolation all seem like they shouldn't run that well on the console, but do. With the hybrid console's more powerful successor on the horizon, only a few of these kinds of ports are probably left. Today, we learned that one of those will be Bandai Namco Entertainment's Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, which will come to the system on July 11.

First released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2019, this exhilarating combat flight sim is coming to Nintendo Switch as Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition. There currently aren't many flight sims like this on Nintendo Switch, likely due to how graphically intensive the game's full 360-degree aerial battles can get. As such, it'll be quite impressive if Bandai Namco Entertainment manages to get Ace Combat 7 up and running smoothly on the Switch, which isn't as powerful as the consoles the game initially released for.

Read more
These Activision Blizzard games need to come to Xbox Game Pass this year
Sekiro easy mode mod FromSoftware Souls games gameplay difficulty

In October 2023, Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and by the end of the year, the latter company's CEO had departed. Now, this will be the year where we’ll see how Activision Blizzard functions when fully integrated into Microsoft. The most immediate change for those who play games will likely be Activision Blizzard titles coming to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service.

Microsoft and Activision have explained that because of the tribulations the acquisition encountered, it was impossible to have Xbox Game Pass additions prepared almost immediately after the acquisition, as it did with ZeniMax Media. In the coming months, I expect we’ll finally start to see Activision Blizzard games trickle onto the service, even if we shouldn't expect it from this week's Developer_Direct. As Activision Blizzard is one of the oldest game publishers out there, having released hundreds of games, there are plenty of titles to choose from. I’ve cherry-picked the ones I want to see most.
Diablo IV

Read more
An AI company may have just leaked the Nintendo Switch 2’s name and release month
An image of the Nintendo Switch - OLED Model Mario Red Edition.

As part of the ongoing wave of AI-related news at CES 2024, Altec Lansing revealed an artificial intelligence-powered successor to GameShark called AI Shark. More interestingly, the press release regarding this software claims that the Nintendo Switch 2 will launch in September 2024.

"Formerly known as GameShark, AI Shark is set to redefine the gaming landscape with its revolutionary AI-enhanced technology," Altec Lansing explains in a press release. "The innovative gaming software is set to mark a significant leap forward in the gaming experience, bringing enhanced gameplay for beginner-level users. The official launch is planned to coincide with the Nintendo Switch 2 in September 2024."

Read more