When thinking about kid-friendly video games, theDiabloseries is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, in the aftermath ofDiablo 2’sofficial release and the rise ofPokemon, there very nearly was an entry in theDiabloseries created with children in mind. The project went through various stages of minor development before being officially canceled. Many details are still unknown to the public, likely because they had not been ironed out by Blizzard themselves in that brief development experiment.
This kid-friendlyDiablogame was internally referred to asDiablo Jr.is the brainchild of programmer Jonathan Morin who was looking for a new project afterDiablo 2. At this point,Pokemonwas taking the world by storm and nearly every media creator wanted a slice of this brand-new creature battler pie. Some were quite successful such asDigimon. It’s unclear how wellDiablo Jr.would actually be received by kids and parents alike, given that there was a degree of backlash toPokemonand it can hardly be called as violent as theDiabloseries.
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What is Diablo Jr.?
The idea sparked when Jonathan Morin came across a Game Boy development kit. He wanted to transfer theDiabloformula to portable gaming systems. The main development discussions were focused on how the combat would function. Some wanted to retain the hack-and-slash combat of theDiablogames on PC, while others thought a turn-based RPG likePokemonwould fit better on the handheld system. The only known playable demo of the game was from a top-down perspective which seems to suggest the traditional hack-and-slash approach was chosen. There would also be separate unique releases likePokemon RedandPokemon Blue, but forDiablo Jr.,each release would focus on a different class. There would beDiablo Jr. Necromancer Edition, for example, and there would also be cross-system trading like inPokemon. These classes would start in a town similar toPokemonthen battle and explore the wilderness and dungeons.
Morin was given a very small team and development officially began in 2002. After just half a year, and with some high-profile resignations from Blizzard, the project was reevaluated and canceled. The exact reason behind the cancellation is unknown. However, Blizzard isn’t known for making spinoffs or attempting to take advantage of the popular gaming zeitgeist. Rather, the company strives to create a single title in a genre and develop and improve it over the years. This is why the only MMO from Blizzard isWorld of Warcraftand the only hero shooter isOverwatch.
It’s also been speculated that becauseDiablo Jr.was an offline experience that did not take advantage of the online service Battle.net and was therefore unprofitable. Furthermore, the company would have to produce and manufacture GameBoy cartridges and publish the title through Nintendo. All of this was not in line with Blizzard’s PC focus at the time. Currently, there are several Blizzard titles on platforms besides PC, includingthe Nintendo Switch.Diablo Jr.has a sort of spiritual successor in the mobile-only titleDiablo Immortal. It definitely won’t be as kid-friendly asDiablo Jr.but it will be the first major Blizzard title to not be released on PC.
Diablo Jr.is an interesting game in the history of Blizzard. The company could have chased thePokemontrend and probably made at least a decent amount of money. However, it instead chose to focus on and cultivate its existing titles for the many years to come. The return ofDiablo Jr.seems very unlikely, but the existence ofDiablo Immortalseems to indicate that the company does want to chase trends, specifically the mobile game market.
