With the release of Diablo 4's first expansion, key developers provide insights into their vision for the series' latest entry and their broader objectives for the Diablo franchise.
Blizzard Talks Goals with Diablo 4
Devs Want to Focus on Content that Players Will Enjoy
Blizzard has expressed its commitment to maintaining Diablo 4 as a long-term project, especially given its status as the company's fastest-selling game to date. In a recent interview with VGC, Diablo series head Rod Fergusson and Diablo 4 executive producer Gavian Whishaw discussed how ensuring longevity and sustained interest across all installments of Blizzard's acclaimed action RPG dungeon crawler series is beneficial for them—whether it's Diablo 4, 3, 2, or even the original game.
"I mean, one of the things you’ll notice about Blizzard is that we tend not to turn any games off, it’s very rare. So you can still go play Diablo and Diablo 2, Diablo 2: Resurrected and Diablo 3, right?" Fergusson told VGC, "And so just people playing Blizzard games is awesome."
When asked if it's a concern for Blizzard that Diablo 4's player count is comparable to that of previous Diablo entries, Fergusson stated that "it’s not a problem that people are playing whatever version." He elaborated, "That’s one of the things that’s been really exciting about Diablo 2: Resurrected, is that there’s a very large fan base for that game, which is a remaster of a 21-year-old game. So just having people in our sort of ecosystem, playing and loving Blizzard games, is a huge positive."
Fergusson further emphasized that Blizzard wants players to "play what they want to play." While there are financial benefits for the company if more players transition from Diablo 3 to Diablo 4, he noted that the company is "not trying to actively be like 'how do we move them off?'"
"And whether they’re playing Diablo 4 today, or tomorrow, or whenever, the goal for us is to make the content and the features that are so desirable that people want to come and play Diablo 4," Fergusson said. "And that’s why we continue to support things like Diablo 3 and Diablo 2, and so for us, it’s really a goal of 'let’s just make stuff that’s so appealing that people want to come play'."
Diablo 4 Gears Up for Vessel of Hatred Release
Exciting developments are on the horizon for Diablo 4 players with the upcoming release of the Vessel of Hatred expansion, set to launch on October 8. The Diablo team has released a video detailing what players can expect from this expansion.
The expansion introduces a new region, Nahantu, featuring new towns, dungeons, and ancient civilizations for players to explore. It also continues the game's campaign, with players embarking on a quest to find Neyrelle, a key hero in the game. This journey takes them deep into an ancient jungle to uncover and thwart a sinister plot orchestrated by the evil overlord Mephisto.
