Activision Blizzard have made no secret in the fact that their latest release Diablo IV has been a commercial and critical success, with press releases announcing that it was their biggest and fastest ever selling game on launch day. Of course they failed to mention that included the early access sales as well, but it was a success regardless.
Our own critic Massimo Castelli gave it a huge 8/10, saying “the story and side quests and the simple but effective gameplay loop combined with the immersive and interesting story brought this newest instalment of this almost 30 year old franchise to be one of the best games of the year so far.“, so it’s fair to say we liked it as well, and we weren’t the only ones.
Related: Diablo IV Review: The Devil is in the Detail (PC)
All the plaudits aside, Activision Blizzard may have unintentionally shot themselves in the foot with their latest announcement, annoying an already irritated fanbase.
Diablo IV – Another Day, Another Issue
Much has been made of the various bugs and issues players are encountering during their time playing the game. The biggest and most mentioned being players are unfortunately losing their characters due to a bug on hardcore mode. Thinking of fast traveling anywhere? Don’t. Ever. Whilst small, there’s a chance the game may error, and instead of you arriving at your destination, you’ll end up getting the death screen for your character. As you know on hardcore mode there’s no way back from this, other than starting a new character.
And it’s on this same vein that fans are once again annoyed by Activision Blizzard.
Hey Paul, yes to take part in the seasonal questline, mechanics, season journey and battle pass, you will need to create a new seasonal character. Playing campaign with seasonal character (if you so desire or need to finish) will also progress the season journey and battle pass.
— Rod Fergusson (@RodFergusson) June 19, 2023
As you can see here, General Manager of the Diablo franchise Rod Fergusson has confirmed that if players wish to be involved with the game’s seasonal questlines, you’ll be required to create from scratch an entire new character. With characters taking hundreds of hours to fully maximise, and the knowledge that after the season they were used for has passed they’ll be near useless, figuratively speaking, fans were understandably annoyed at this odd and baffling design choice.
There is no way this is going to fly with most of the player base. Hope you’ve got a Plan B for when MAUs drop 90%.
— Mike (@miketheitguy) June 20, 2023
This is basically my first Diablo, but am disappointed I can’t focus on my main character to progress seasons, like we do in Destiny. I guess it will introduce me to the other classes but at the expense of continuing the levelling of my main. The way I game i can’t do both.
— Lone Wanderer (@penandpapertony) June 19, 2023
I’m a new Diablo player and a new dad. I only have maybe an hour a day to game, if that. So my current character is only level 11. You’re saying I should basically not even play this game then right?
— Nekoda (@putbackthestars) June 20, 2023
Whether fans stick around for many seasons is up in the air yet, and maybe this is a case of Activison Blizzard and Rod Fergusson not necessarily showing their entire hands, as the upcoming season is due to release in mid-July, we’ll have to wait and see what actually occurs, and whether the understandable frustration from fans is warranted. Will you be playing each season with a new character? Will you drop the game completely? Let us know in the comments below.
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