Although playing Diablo on a Nintendo handheld is a reality with Diablo III on Switch, it’s interesting to know now that we could have, at one point, had a Pokémon-inspired spinoff on Game Boy a decade and a half ago.
Variety posted a fascinating article about a pet project by John Morin and a few other Blizzard employees. At the time, they had just wrapped up on Diablo II. While looking for their next project, some members of Blizzard North, who were experienced with handheld porting, sought to port Diablo over to Game Boy, with ideas ranging from monster collecting to different classes comprising the different versions of the game (a “Mage” version and a “Knight” version, for instance).
The small team worked on the project in secret for a time, but when Blizzard North and Blizzard South merged, the heads from the South division pulled the plug on the game.
Be sure to check out the full story of what could have been. It’s a great read.
Leave a Comment
Written by Bryan Finch
A video editor by trade, Bryan Finch is a lifetime Nintendo fan, and he loves writing about his passions. He also spends too much time playing and watching fighting games. Bryan enjoys movies, comics, cooking with his wife, and the idea of Elite Beat Agents 2.
