I thought I was dreaming yesterday when Blizzard actually confirmed a brand-new expansion for Diablo II: Resurrected, the brilliant remaster of the studio’s almost 26-year-old ARPG. Out now, the shadow-dropped Reign of the Warlock expansion adds a brand-new class to the game as well as other improvements, but this is just the start of the studio’s plans.
Talking to Eurogamer, Blizzard confirmed that this is a way of testing the waters for fans of Diablo 2. Reign of the Warlock, and any further updates, will be split from Diablo 2 Classic, allowing players to enjoy both the original content and new content within the same client, but the team still doesn’t want to ruin what players like about the game with additional updates.
Lead designer Timothy Vasconcellos told the outlet that future updates to Diablo 2 require a “very intricate dance” as the studio looks to preserve what makes the game so beloved. “We have to nail that,” he said, “otherwise we kill the game in trying to progress it forward”.
“If we wanted to change Barbarian for some reason: I wouldn’t want to surprise people with that.”
Diablo II Resurrected lead producer Matthew Cederquist
Blizzard revealed that there are still “millions of people who play Diablo 2”, an incredible feat for a game that is over 25-years-old. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense to try and give players additional content to play through. After all, fan projects like Project Diablo 2 have been doing so for years with their own bespoke player bases and communities. As long as the original is still preserved, it makes sense to try and give players even more options.
“We don’t want to mess up the Mona Lisa,” lead producer Matthew Cederquist said. “We’re not going to give her some sunglasses and a new hairdo. But at the same time, does it feel weird [adding a new class]? No. Do we have to honour that legacy of what was created? Yes.”
Cederquist explains that everything new and old is “totally split” with players able to bring classic characters forward if they want. “If we make any future changes to any classes or whatever, it’s going to happen in that Reign of Warlock space”, he continued, adding that changes to existing classes should only happen with direct conversation with the community.
“Let’s say if we wanted to change Barbarian for some reason: I wouldn’t want to surprise people with that,” they explained. “That is working with the community hand in hand, to listen to their feedback about the changes that we would make if we wanted to.”
Diablo 2 is my favourite game in the series, and a game I still believe to be the absolute best in its genre. It’s incredible to have new content for the game, although it’s always a little worrying to see something so beloved be messed with. Nevertheless, seeing as everything is split, as long as Blizzard keeps making the right decisions, bring on some more.
Alongside continued updates to Diablo 2 and Diablo 4, Blizzard is also working on further expansions for World of Warcraft that will redux a number of locations in the MMO. Additionally, Overwatch is going through a major rebrand with a host of new characters and bigger updates than ever. It certainly seems like a flame has been lit under the studio as of late.
