Diablo IV IGN Interview - Season Cadence, Current Development Status, D4 As A Live Service

Diablo IV Posted 2022/11/03 at 11:15 AM by Tharid

extended interview with IGNEarlier this weekTesting Diablo IV's End-Game

According to Fergusson, testing Diablo IV is a lot like "soup testing", reiterating the game by analyzing feedback from multiple targeted player groups over and over. Together with general community feedback, iteration and refinement happen based on this holistic approach.

End-game testing like during the current Closed Beta phase is particularly important because a lot of players love to play Diablo "way past the campaign". Early end-game testing gives Blizzard the opportunity to make adjustments before launch while also providing a well-tested end-game, post-campaign experience - according to Shely, players should not "beta-test the end-game at launch".

Diablo IV is a "systems game". With the Closed End-Game Beta, Blizzard tries to collect feedback from players testing end-game systems like Nightmare dungeons or the Helltide system by simulating a post-launch, post-campaign scenario.

Fergusson explains that having an introduction in the form of a campaign is important - however, unleashing players on Diablo IV's end-game after the campaign is the "starting point" of the game as a live service where players start to pour in thousands of hours into the game.

Diablo IV as a Live Service and Seasons

Diablo IV's launch next year only marks its beginning as a live service game. The game should "feel rich", providing exciting content as soon as players have finished the campaign.

Wording regarding season cadence has been "soft" because it's tough to develop the base game and the live service aspects of it at the same time. However, Diablo IV will have a "heartbeat" in the form of both seasons and expansions.

To make sure that the team can deliver post-launch content reliably, language regarding season length and cadence hasn't been too concrete just yet. In general, Fergusson admits that quarterly seasons "feel good", so the "up to four seasons" statement from earlier this year still stands.

Seasons in Diablo IV are built to be "big, crunchy, and meaningful" and will change up the game, providing players with cool and exciting features after they've finished the campaign.

D3 seasons have been really cool because players were getting a fresh start every time. In Diablo IV, however, seasons will not only change the meta-game but also introduce completely new aspects of gameplay.

Blizzard will use seasons to test and iterate on certain features that could even make it into the base game if these features are well-received.

Current Development Status

Extensive testing was and still is essential to the current development of Diablo IV, providing a lot of information to support the team's general design perspective. An important goal is to make Diablo IV's end-game "ready" when players finish the campaign part of the game.

Both Fergusson and Shely feel really good about the current state of development. Campaign, cinematic, and voice-over work is well underway. The development team is also making sure that Season 1 will be fully available as soon as players finish the campaign.

Comment by Zephos

Blizzard will use seasons to test and iterate on certain features that could even make it into the base game if these features are well-received.

Comment by Kyokokukamusari

D3 seasons have been really cool because players were getting a fresh start every time. In Diablo IV, however, seasons will not only change the meta-game but also introduce completely new aspects of gameplay.
Blizzard will use seasons to test and iterate on certain features that could even make it into the base game if these features are well-received.

this is exactly how poe does its season// leagues
now lets see what they steal in the ideas from poes leaguesComment by Zephos

D3 seasons have been really cool because players were getting a fresh start every time. In Diablo IV, however, seasons will not only change the meta-game but also introduce completely new aspects of gameplay.
Blizzard will use seasons to test and iterate on certain features that could even make it into the base game if these features are well-received.

this is exactly how poe does its season// leagues
now lets see what they steal in the ideas from poes leaguesComment by GaddI think it'd be fine if D4 took inspiration from POE's ideas. Games in general borrow from each other all the time. Moreover, Diablo pretty much invented the action RPG. The term '' Diablo Clone '' was used so much because so many games copied and took ideas from the series. Including POE.Comment by 2325093The thing is, playing the same old "thorough testing + immense polishing + post launch content" fiddle was exactly what Blizzard were doing at this stage of D3's development a decade ago. Years later, it was confirmed the game released largely untested, unfixed and unfinished beyond the first 15 minutes of gameplay found in the beta / press preview version.

I loved playing D2 and especially D1.
D4 looks far too much like an upgraded, de-saturated version of D3 to me and that game won't get rid of the stigma of making me lose all faith in Blizzard any time soon.Comment by dotaffsCorrect me if im wrong, but Game Director Joe Shely doesnt give me the vibe of knowing a lot about Diablo.Comment by KerathrasI have enjoyed playing D3 (and PoE for that matter though I discovered it rather late) on and off ever since it came out but I have never once participated in seasonal content because I find the whole concept ridiculous. Why would I want to start from scratch every few months? I’ve never understood the appeal and to be quite frank to me this is just a lazy gimmick aimed at creating the illusion of new content where there is none.

So I really don’t care how they try to spice these seasons up but I can guarantee I will not be participating if I have to start every new season with a fresh character and jump on the hamster wheel again. If the D4 seasons model is anything like D3 or PoE’s I am out.Comment by AzraelUltimad3 may have done the whole season thing but poe has and always will be the first to put actual new mechanics into there leagues with the intention of putting them in standardComment by crybabydefeater

D3 seasons have been really cool because players were getting a fresh start every time. In Diablo IV, however, seasons will not only change the meta-game but also introduce completely new aspects of gameplay.
Blizzard will use seasons to test and iterate on certain features that could even make it into the base game if these features are well-received.

this is exactly how poe does its season// leagues
now lets see what they steal in the ideas from poes leaguesComment by Kitsuri

D3 seasons have been really cool because players were getting a fresh start every time. In Diablo IV, however, seasons will not only change the meta-game but also introduce completely new aspects of gameplay.
Blizzard will use seasons to test and iterate on certain features that could even make it into the base game if these features are well-received.

this is exactly how poe does its season// leagues
now lets see what they steal in the ideas from poes leagues