Diablo 4 Will Get a Major Expansion Per Year; 'Terrible news,' Gamers Complain
Diablo 4 players are once again raising hell. After all, in addition to quarterly seasons, the game is to receive annual expansions. The news is that they will be very expensive.
"We're working on the first expansion, we're starting to work on the second one..." - said Rod Fergusson, lead producer of Diablo IV, shortly before the game's release. These words may have poured much joy into the hearts of fans of the series, who remember how excellent the Lord of Destruction and "two" i Reaper of Souls expansions were for Diablo 3.
Unfortunately, it seems like Blizzard aims to tire the community with the fourth Diablo, while draining gamers' wallets at the same time. The latter were outraged at the news that in addition to the quarterly seasons of Diablo IV is to receive annual paid expansions.
This was revealed by the aforementioned Rod Fergusson in an interview with Dexerto.com:
"When we look at the release of the game and first season, we see them as laying a foundation on which we can build in the future. And when we look at our quarterly seasons and annual expansions, we know that these are the things we are really focusing on for the live-service game.
We have plans and stories that look far into the future. We always plan seasons and expansions ahead and will continue to do so for a long time. We're excited about it.
When you look back and realize that it's been 11 years between Diablo III and Diablo IV, you may feel that we didn't live up to the expectations of our players and what they deserve. This is something we are fixing in Diablo IV - in seasons and expansions."
To put it mildly, the community doesn't seem to share Rod Fergusson and Blizzard's excitement. 'This is terrible news,' argue some. Especially since there were rumors that the expansions in question would cost $40-60.
There was an uproar both on Reddit, as well as the Blizzard forum. While a handful of fans defend the developers, the vast majority criticize them, pointing out that:
- after completing the main campaign, Diablo IV becomes terribly boring and Blizzard should do something about it now;
- we are dealing with a full price game that includes microtransactions and cosmetic elements;
- this is somewhat the fault of Bungie and Destiny 2, which is based on the same business model as Diablo IV (in which case it would be more appropriate to criticize Activision Blizzard, the publisher of both games).
Will the player distaste affect Blizzard's actions in any way? Or will it be necessary to "vote with your wallet"? It's hard to say - because it seems that the developers have made very specific plans for many years ahead and may not be willing (or even able) to abandon them.
As a reminder, let me add that the ongoing first season of online gameplay in Diablo IV will end on October 17. That day will mark the beginning of season two, dedicated to the theme of vampires.
