Dear Reader:
Blizzard talks about Diablo III's smooth porting process to Switch, building a relationship with Nintendo, and future Switch support
The following tidbits come from a Kotaku interview with Blizzard senior producer Pete Stilwell.
- porting was a relatively smooth process, which took about 9 months
- “conversion on the graphics side” of things was the biggest challenge
- Nintendo offered assistance with trouble-shooting
- the experience paved the way for potential future Blizzard ports to the Switch
“Without going beyond [the Diablo port], I think it was a good exploration into the platform and into the relationship with Nintendo that has been extremely positive, extremely healthy and forward-thinking.”
- a team of “eight or nine” Blizzard staffers collaborated with Iron Galaxy to handle this port
- “nothing to say about that today” when asked about Overwatch
- each potential port of a Blizzard game will be its own process
“Blizzard is really comprised of many unique game teams, so the game engines are equally unique. I wish I could say it’s simple, like ‘flip a switch.’ But it’s not.”