April was a big month in the Android gaming world, with new game announcements and release dates for highly-anticipated titles. Square Enix and Ubisoft revealed that Kingdom Hearts and Rainbow Six would be making their way to mobile in the future, and Pokémon Go developer Niantic unveiled a brand-new augmented reality project with Peridot. And after four years since its announcement, Blizzard finally announced a release date for Diablo Immortal — along with some surprises.
Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link brings its convoluted story to Android
I hope you're ready for more Kingdom Hearts, and I'm not talking about Kingdom Hearts 4. While the internet was in awe of Sora's new art style and his lack of clown shoes (RIP 2002-2022), Square Enix also revealed a new mobile entry in the long-running franchise. Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link will bring the series to Android and iOS with 3D graphics and real-time combat, but little is known about its story other than it being completely new.
Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link centers around the bustling city of Scala ad Caelum, but other familiar worlds like the Kingdom of Corona appear in the trailer as well. Square Enix even says that players will be able to journey into the real world.
No release date was announced, but there will be a closed beta coming sometime this year in limited regions. Honestly, it's probably for the best that Square Enix didn't reveal a release date. That gives people more time to make sense of the series' wildly confusing story and how it might play into the new title.
Ubisoft announces Rainbow Six Mobile with a closed alpha
Tom Clancy's Elite Squad did poorly on mobile — and eventually shut down completely — but that hasn't deterred Ubisoft from its mobile efforts. This time, the team is bringing Rainbow Six to Android and iOS. Rainbow Six Mobile will be a full-fledged competitive, tactical FPS much like Rainbow Six Siege. It will even feature the Bank and Border maps from Siege adapted for mobile.
According to Ubisoft, Rainbow Six Mobile has been in development for over three years, and the team hopes it will give players the opportunity to play the game they love "in short, accessible bursts, while also enabling millions of new players to get the R6 experience."
Ubisoft did not reveal a release date, but like Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, Rainbow Six Mobile will be holding upcoming closed technical tests that players can now sign up for.
Peridot looks like Pokémon Go mixed with Tamagotchi
Niantic is back at it with another augmented reality adventure, this time in a brand-new IP called Peridot. The developer seems to be taking what it learned from Pokémon Go and created its own world with fantastical little creatures that can be trained and bred. Niantic only revealed a short 30-second teaser trailer for it, but it looks pretty cute.
Peridot will allow players to pet, feed, and play with their Peridots, which are completely unique due to a combination of hand-crafted assets and procedural-generation. They can even be bred to create new archetypes.
Considering how poorly some of Niantic's other titles have been after Pokémon Go, like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Pikmin Bloom, the developer could use a win with Peridot.
Diablo Immortal heads to Android and PC in June
Diablo Immortal has finally received a release date after four years. Blizzard revealed that the upcoming mobile spin-off will hit Android and iOS on June 2, 2022. In a surprising move, the company also revealed that there will be a PC version of the game and it will receive full cross-play and cross-progression support with the mobile versions.
Blizzard had made no indication of a PC release in the past, so it will be interesting to see how the controls translate. The team said in a blog post that they "have gone the extra mile to preserve major elements of the iconic Diablo control scheme so that you can slay monsters in the comfort of your own home chair."
I've never been into Diablo personally because I'm not a fan of isometric/pseudo-isometric gameplay, but I might try it out on mobile just to see what's up.
Genshin Impact Update 2.7 delayed
Since its launch, Genshin Impact has held a nearly unbroken update cadence every 42 days, but that's set to change with Update 2.7. The game's official Twitter account said, "due to project progress, the Version 2.7 update will be postponed. For detailed information on the date of the new update, content adjustment plan, and compensation, please stay tuned for upcoming announcements."
Dear Travelers,Due to project progress, the Version 2.7 update will be postponed.For detailed information on the date of the new update, content adjustment plan, and compensation, please stay tuned for upcoming announcements.#GenshinImpact pic.twitter.com/FiiGQyJO1GApril 29, 2022
It's unclear what caused the delay and fans were not given a time frame as to when they can expect the update to launch. Considering that developer HoYoverse has been updating it regularly for well over a year with significant content additions, it's understandable that they'd need extra time eventually..
At this point, every franchise will come to mobile
I feel like I continue to say this every month, but we really are starting to see just about every major franchise come to mobile. It's the way that the industry is trending, regardless of whether you want it or not. Still, it's certainly nice to see AAA franchises make their way properly to Android instead of the all the shovelware we've seen and will very likely continue to see.
– Jennifer Locke
