Kotaku Article Claims Diablo 4 Is Coming, But Announcement Was Pulled From Blizzcon

Hey, it's rumor-mill/wishful thinking time!

The announcement of Diablo Immortal went about as poorly as one could imagine any game announcement going. I feel bad for everyone involved - the developers who have poured hours upon hours into this project only to see it booed by a disappointed fanbase and the players who wanted a robust, PC-based game that would be a worthy successor to Diablo III and not a mobile-only game that they fear will be a microtransaction-ridden hellscape.

I have no idea how Diablo Immortal will turn out, but the rumor mill is at it:

According to this article by Kotaku, the hotly anticipated Diablo IV is, in fact, in the works. But it was not in a state to present, and so they pulled it from the announcements.

Let's unpack this:

First off, this is not at all confirmed by Blizzard. The news itself would be very welcome if it's true, but it would really raise some questions about how Blizzard has handled it from a marketing perspective.

If it's false, this rumor would just be a painful salt-in-the-wound thing for fans. But for the sake of argument, let's assume that it's actually true.

Blizzard does love to control the narrative on their games, and giving an impressive announcement is a big part of that. But given how starved Diablo fans are these days - Reaper of Souls was fantastic, but it's not fresh anymore - just letting them have something to look forward to would be great.

Let's look at a couple examples: As a huge Skyrim fan, I was overjoyed to see that an Elder Scrolls VI was coming, even if that's literally all we know about the game. Because TES went the MMO route with Elder Scrolls Online, I had worried (I suppose gaining a little sympathy for all the people who have clamored for Warcraft IV for the last decade and a half) that we'd never see another single-player Elder Scrolls game. What Bethesda has now given us is literally just the promise that we'll get a new game. And you know what? That's a big deal and a big relief.

Similarly, after the apparent (I never played it) disappointment of Metroid Other M, it was a source of great excitement to see that Metroid Prime 4 had been announced - the Metroid Prime sub-series being a very successful and beloved series of games that translated Metroid into a first person shooter while still feeling totally Metroid.

The point being: Not only would a promise of Diablo 4 at Blizzcon been one of the highlights of the 'con, but it would probably have made the response to Diablo Immortal a far less negative, maybe positive one. Yes, the hardcore might dismiss it and say "meh, I'll just wait for Diablo 4," but there would be so, so much less hostility to the game if it weren't presented as the thing we're all getting instead of a proper Diablo 4.

It's very easy for me to armchair quarterback here, but I really think that communicating intention with a loyal fanbase is a good strategy. There are always shitty, entitled people with unreasonable expectations, and you can't please them all. But a mere "yes, Diablo 4 is in the works" would have diffused so much of the rancor last weekend.

Assuming that the rumor is true.

Either way, even if you're disappointed with an upcoming release, don't be shitty. Remember that there are hardworking human beings behind every project - good or bad. You're free to register your complaints and vent your frustrations, but try to have some empathy. Ultimately it's a game, and there are other games to play.