Pixelworks Brings New Mobile Gaming Experience to "Diablo Immortal", a Co-developed Game by Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase

One-click activation of 120fps, high frame-rate gaming, featuring ultra clarity and low power consumption, takes consumers on immersive adventures in the Diablo universe

SHANGHAI, April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Pixelworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW), a leading provider of visual processing solutions, today announced that Diablo^® Immortal™, a mobile game co-developed by Blizzard Entertainment^® and NetEase, is the latest game to integrate the IRX Rendering Accelerator SDK. As an IRX certified game, Diablo Immortal delivers an exceptional 120fps visual experience on IRX certified devices with low power consumption, allowing mobile gamers to enjoy more captivating gaming adventures.

Diablo Immortal perfectly captures the essence of the Diablo universe, inheriting the dark realm of classic Diablo art style and its grand worldview. As a new mobile game in the Diablo series, replicating the game content of the PC version is crucial for providing gamers with the same sense of presence on a smartphone. This includes fundamental elements of the game, such as realistic and cool combat scenes, clear and lifelike dungeons, and three-dimensional character modeling. Displaying all of these in high-frame-rate and with high-fidelity graphics is essential for a fully immersive gaming experience, however achieving these high levels of visual performance pose a significant challenge for the traditional image rendering capabilities of smartphones.

To overcome the inherent bottlenecks associated with mobile platforms, including rendering performance, device temperature, and battery capacity, Pixelworks collaborated with the technical team of NetEase’s Diablo Immortal to optimize the mobile game’s underlying visual processing techniques. Compared with traditional rendering methods, IRX rendering acceleration technology not only enhances the experience with 120fps high-resolution graphics, but also effectively controls system power consumption. Players can define their experiences through the game’s user interfaces. As an additional benefit of IRX rendering acceleration technology, developers are able to flexibly allocate rendering resources based on the game content to faithfully present the game’s artistic intentions on mobile platforms.

“As the first official mobile game of the globally popular Diablo IP, Diablo Immortal must meet the expectations of many familiar players,” said Jiaheng Wang, Technical Director of NetEase’s Diablo Immortal. “For the mobile platform, together with Blizzard Entertainment, we have created new storylines and gameplay. We hope that the mobile game can both inherit the visual attributes of the PC version, while breaking the performance limitations of smartphones, allowing mobile game players to immerse in a perfectly smooth, PC-like gaming experience. This collaboration with Pixelworks and the IRX rendering acceleration technology has enabled a mobile game featuring more precise and efficient visual display enhancements. With lower power consumption, high-frame-rate and immersive graphics, players can enjoy more intense battles and immersive exploration.”

“Diablo Immortal represents a new chapter for the Diablo series. The game’s rich storyline, cool combat visual effects, and stunning art style all epitomize the true meaning of high-quality games,” said Jun Fang, Senior Marketing Director of Pixelworks. “Players’ gaming experience is paramount for games to maintain vitality in the long term. As an IRX certified game, the enhanced visual display effects of Diablo Immortal will allow users to fully immerse and uniquely experience the Diablo world comprised of smooth, lifelike visuals.”

About NetEase Games

NetEase Games, the online games division of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES and HKEX: 9999), is a leading global developer and publisher of video game IP across a variety of genres and platforms. NetEase Games’ development and publishing slate include titles such as Knives Out, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, and Naraka: Bladepoint, and partnerships with major entertainment brands such as Warner Bros and Mojang AB (a Microsoft subsidiary). NetEase Games also supports the growth and development of its innovative global studios in Canada, Europe, Japan and the United States.

About Pixelworks

Pixelworks provides industry-leading content creation, video delivery and display processing solutions and technology that enable highly authentic viewing experiences with superior visual quality, across all screens – from cinema to smartphone and beyond. The Company has more than 20 years of history delivering image processing innovation to leading providers of consumer electronics, professional displays and video streaming services. In July 2023, Pixelworks announced its new IRX gaming experience brand. As a brand targeted at smartphone users, IRX is grounded on Pixelworks’ profound visual processing and rendering technologies coupling with in-depth tuning services with consideration on games’ characteristic. This combination leverages Pixelworks’ expertise to optimize the performance and display quality for various mobile games, thus providing end users with unparalleled mobile gaming experiences.

For more information, please visit the company’s web site at www.pixelworks.com.

Note: Pixelworks, IRX and the Pixelworks logo are trademarks of Pixelworks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.