Diablo 4 is still going strong, with Blizzard Entertainment pouring in new content for players to enjoy. However, are you wondering if this is a game that’s planned to be here forever? I’m sure there are more than a few fans who wondered what the end game might be or if there is one. Rod Fergusson recently commented on a question asking if we will see a Diablo 5.
For those unaware, Rod Fergusson is the head of Diablo at Blizzard Entertainment. After spending years with the Gears of War franchise, Rod made the jump to Blizzard in 2020. Since then, Diablo 4 has been released, and unlike previous entries in the series, this installment has been similar to a live-service game.
Rather than just a few expansions, the developers seem to be providing more than a few content updates and expansions. But that doesn’t mean this game is sticking around forever. IGN recently asked Rod about the release of Diablo 5, and he says he doesn’t know if he sees Diablo 4 as eternal. That said, he still wants it to be around for years.
We want it to be around for years. I don’t know if it’s eternal. I think Destiny tried and did that like, ‘This is a ten-year game,’ and then they quickly were not. We want people to see the road ahead, because we know that, to play a Diablo game, you’re probably putting hundreds of hours in and we want people to know that we’re respecting their time and that we’re not just here and gone. – Rod Fergusson
Looking back to previous releases, there have been ten-year gaps between releases. That was between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. Likewise, we saw another ten years between Diablo 3 and Diablo 4. As a result, he wants to assure players that they are respecting their time and not looking to jump ship immediately. Instead, you can continue to pour hundreds of hours into this game as they prepare more content for players to enjoy.
However, while on the subject of new content, there’s a new move in the future thanks to the Public Test Realm, otherwise known as PTR. That new feature is for the PC right now, and it’s aimed at giving players who opt in the chance to try new patches and updates to the game ahead of time.
You just realize that it’s better to ruin the surprise for 10,000 people so that millions of people have a great season. And even if you mess up PTR, even if whatever you’re offering to them in the mechanics is bad, I would much rather have a bad week of a PTR than a bad three months trying to recover from putting in something that we were surprising players with and it turned out to be wrong. – Rod Fergusson
While it was a struggle to decide if this was the right move, Blizzard ultimately decided to go for it. Initially, they could have refrained from releasing roadmaps and the upcoming PTR. That would give the developers the element of surprise for fans. However, at the same time, the developers felt it would be best to allow people to learn what’s coming and get feedback on whether their content works. Ultimately, this would save the developers time from having to go back and spend months fixing these issues.
So, ultimately, Blizzard wants to be more transparent about what’s coming to Diablo 4 and ensure its longevity. However, we should eventually see work transition toward the next major installment.
