‘Disgusting and disturbing content’: Diablo 4 accused of promoting ‘evil’ ad campaign
Blizzard Entertainment finds itself in hot water, as someone in Australia has complained about Diablo 4 and claimed it's promoting evil with its ad campaign.
06th Jul 2023 16:17
Images via Blizzard Entertainment
‘Disgusting and disturbing content’: Diablo 4 accused of promoting ‘evil’ ad campaign
Blizzard Entertainment finds itself in hot water, as someone in Australia has complained about Diablo 4 and claimed it's promoting evil with its ad campaign.
06th Jul 2023 16:17
Images via Blizzard Entertainment
We know Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 4 is a 'demon' when it comes to soaring up the charts and keeping the dungeon crawler genre fresh, but is anyone buying the idea that there are actual demons running it? Is Diablo 4 some sort of satanic relic that should be confined to the bowels of hell? No, we didn't think so.
Since the first Diablo clawed its way out of the hellfires in 1997, it's clear from the artwork alone that this isn't one for kids. Blizzard's action RPG is packed with Balrogs, Winged Fiends, and Hell Knights, while the likes of the Butcher and Lilith have left us as bloodied heaps on the floor.
Blizzard accused of 'evil' Diablo 4 ad campaign
With Diablo 4 bringing the slashing series into a new generation of gaming, players were excited to see what could be pulled from the macabre cauldron this time. Not that you really needed to promote Diablo 4, but the marketing team has done a stellar job of giving us nightmares and getting us to part with our cash.
As picked up by Guardian Australia's Josh Taylor, the Australian Ads Standards Community has received a complaint for a Diablo 4 billboard in Melbourne. More than just an isolated incident, the 'evil' ad got enough complaints to warrant a response.
Saying "Welcome to Hell, Melbourne," concerned motorists complained on religious grounds. One said it's wrong for "promoting evil and satanic paraphernalia." It's also "inappropriate to show such disgusting and disturbing content on a billboard."
"The words [Welcome to Hell, Melbourne] as part of the advertisement for this game and a picture of a devil are offensive to me as a Christian. The imagery is also inappropriate for my children to see and has already given them nightmares."
Lilith staring at the camera is supposed to "startle" viewers, which we assume is the complainant suggesting it's dangerous for drivers. Another took it a step further and accused Diablo 4 of causing them PTSD: "Even as an adult it brought back memories of the hell of the two years of lockdowns in Melbourne."
Diablo 4 marketing department respond to claims
Considering Lilith is the big bad of Diablo 4, and the whole point of the game is trying to beat her, it's not like we've bowing to the seductive queen of this hellscape.
"The 'Welcome to Hell' refers to a fictional location that a person will visit as part of the gameplay in their quest to defeat the fictional villain portrayed in the ads," says the response. "It does not state or imply that Brisbane or Melbourne is ‘hell’ and as such is not derogatory to these cities, or any of their inhabitants."
Cutting down the complaint like a lowly Treasure Goblin, it continues, "The complaints state that the ads were viewed on billboards on the motorway. The average person driving a vehicle on motorways is likely above the game’s age rating." Now that's what we call a mic drop.
For those who are pressed by Diablo 4's marketing, we probably shouldn't tell them about when the team painted a massive mural inside France's Chapelle de Jesuites in Cambrai. The satanic panic of Diablo 4 isn't the first video game ad complaint - anyone remember Daikatana's "John Romero's About To Make You His B*tch" drama?
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
