Summary
There’s a lot riding onDiablo 4’s upcoming Season of Blood set to begin later this month after an underwhelming first season left many players disappointed in the live-service component of the game.Diablo 4launched to high praise and strong sales back in June of this year, but its playerbase has dropped off in the time since due to some controversial updates and a lack of worthwhile content in the Season of the Malignant. The Season of Blood will hopefully turn things around for the game going forward, but Blizzard may need to have a backup plan in place.
Live-service games live or die by the quality and consistency of their updates in order to keep players engaged and wanting to continue playing a game long after release. TheSeason of the Malignantleft a bad taste in the mouths of a lot ofDiablo 4fans after it increased the late-game grind without offering enough of a payoff to justify the tedium. If Blizzard is serious about keepingDiablo 4alive with content for years to come, the Season of Blood needs to wow fans, or else they better have another plan up their sleeve to entice players to stick with the game for the long haul.
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Blizzard Better Have a Backup Plan for Diablo 4 if Season 2 Doesn’t Reignite the Playerbase
One of the biggest complaintsDiablo 4players have about the game that was only made worse by the Season of the Malignant is the endgame content or lack thereof. TheSeason of Bloodlooks to address these concerns by revamping the endgame with five additional bosses for players to tackle as well as targeted farming for uniques and uber uniques. There are also a variety of quality-of-life changes coming toDiablo 4Season 2 to help aid in the endgame grind such as gems no longer taking up inventory space and renown rewards carrying over to all characters beyond just Altars of Lilith.
While all of these changes sound like good news for fans burnt out onDiablo 4after Season 1, it’s unclear if this will be enough new content to entice a large portion of the playerbase to come back and check out Season 2. IfDiablo 4’s Season of Blood fails to recapture this audience, Blizzard may need to fast-track some of the more substantial content in the pipeline in order to get players' attention. WithBlizzcon 2023 coming up on November 3, the company has a chance to prepare exciting announcements forDiablo 4beyond the start of Season 2.
Blizzard could really generate hype for futureDiablo 4content with the reveal of the game’s first major expansion at BlizzCon 2023 as the company has stated they are committed to releasingannual content expansions similar toDestiny 2’s model. Showing off the first of these expansions along with a potential new location and new playable class would be a great way to drive up interest inDiablo 4. It’s likely that Blizzard wants to roll out this first major expansion in the near future, but an early announcement related to it could help supplement a poor Season 2.
BlizzCon will beDiablo 4’s chance to go big or go home when it comes to future content announcements as the precedent the game has currently set doesn’t bode well for the game’s longevity. If Season 2 doesn’t revive interest in the game, it’s unlikely a Season 3 announcement at BlizzCon will be enough to turn things around unless it includes a substantial content update like a new class or location. TheSeason of Blood doesn’t begin until October 17, so it’s still too early to see how it will impact the game’s perception going forward, but Blizzard andDiablo 4fans may need to prepare for the worst.
Diablo 4is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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