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Diablo 4has had a rather eventful journey since the release of its first expansion and the ongoing sixth season. While many have praised the overhauls brought forth byVessel of Hatred, there’s been equal amounts of criticism directed at its pricing and the game’s generally slow progression of its overarching plot.
Still, it’s difficult not to agree that the fourth game in the series is arguably at its peak at the moment, which becomes much more intriguing consideringDiablo 3, the predecessor, continues to perform as well as the game in sheer player count. What would equally surprise you is how Blizzard reacts to those stats.
Diablo 4’sbiggest competitor is its predecessor, and Blizzard is fine with that
Let’s get one thing out of the way first—Diablo 4continues to be Blizzard’s primary cash cow,with the game reportedly earning the company close to a billion dollars.
But as much as the game may be a financial success, it’s undoubtedly not realizing its full monetary potential for the dev team at the moment, considering howDiablo 3still has an active player base of nearly 3 million players, just short of a million from the fourth game.
“This expansion is not the way you’ve experienced it in the past”: The Fundamental Difference Between Vessel of Hatred and Previous Diablo Games is What Makes it More Fun
Now, some might say that this is only proof of the franchise’s staying power, but realistically, it’s undoubtedly strange that so many within the community continue to stick to the third game when the fourth is quite the package itself.
What’s strange still, however, is how Blizzard feels about this unexpected competition from within. When asked about it in aninterview, in quite the twist, Rod Fergusson, the head of theDiablofranchise, welcomed the news, offering a refreshingly humble perspective, especially for an executive from Blizzard of all companies, saying how:
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 play Diablo and Diablo 2, Diablo 2: Resurrected, and Diablo 3, right? And so just people playing Blizzard games is awesome, so it’s not a problem that people are playing whatever version.
He further elaborated on this by explaining how everything’s fine as long as people continue to play and enjoy their games:
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.
If we’re being honest, it’s rather refreshing to see a company so openly support player freedom and let its fan base play whatever it wants without any hassle or some shady catch.
Of course, Blizzard isn’t some innocent indie developer—we do not forget the greed-filled monetization of its IPs and questionable practices. But again, the company’s ecosystem-first approach, where every Diablo title remains relevant, does compel a certain level of respect.
But the question remains: why do many players still playDiablo 3to this day?
Coming back to what we left unanswered, we thought a lot about why people would prefer one over the other. The first thing that jumps out at us is that the third game is just faster-paced than the fourth, which allows many to jump into a session, blow up hordes of enemies, and not worry too much about resource management.
In this regard, the fourth game essentially demands that you slow down, plan your strategies around cooldowns, and frustrate and manage your resources, which may be a point of frustration for many.
Another bugger is how3’sstory, while campy, is somewhat streamlined and complete at this point, while4is still slowly chugging along, one expansion after another –frustratingly, we still don’t know what’s in store for Mephisto with Vessel of Hatred, for instance.
Most important of all, however, is the endgame stuff.4’sendgame is kind of a mixed bag in that events like world bosses, Hell tides, and Legion spawns are considered fun and help break up the repetitive grind, but it always feels as though the game still needs to find its footing in this area.
Diablo 4 Admits “Riffing off locations” from the Last Great Game in the Franchise That All OG Players Respect
While it is a major improvement overDiablo 3’searly days before Reaper of Souls. 3 eventually nailed its endgame with the introduction of Rifts, Greater Rifts, and Seasons, which is possibly what has kept players coming back for years.
That said, this could all change onceDiablo 4completes its lifecycle and evolves with new expansions and content updates. As long as Blizzard tries to be overly greedy with its monetization strategies and remains focused on quality,Diablo 4might as well become the undisputed king of the franchise.
With all that said, what are your thoughts on Blizzard keeping all versions ofDiabloalive? Which version ofDiablodo you prefer the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Akshit Dangi
Writer - Gaming
Articles Published :266
Akshit is a supposed human being and gaming writer who lurks in different corners of the internet in search of fascinating rabbit holes. Outside of that, though, you’ll most likely find him staring at a piece of art for days or completing another playthrough of Silent Hill.
