Diablo 4 lead feels “pressure” to appease “blasters” that rush through content and claim there’s “nothing to do”

Blizzard’s next Diablo 4 season has been delayed ever-so-slightly, once again causing a spike in players complaining about a lack of content. With new events and seasons coming to the game at regular intervals, head of Diablo Rod Fergusson reveals there is a huge pressure to appease players who rush through content and focus on players who only gave a few hours a day to play.

Diablo 4 won’t only focus on “blasters”

Speaking to journalist Stephen Stephen Totilo at Game File (paywalled), the Fergusson explained that Diablo 4 players who rush through content are not specifically the target for the game’s future. However, the series lead explained that there is a lot of personal pressure to feed so-called “blasters” who complain online.

“There’s a lot of pressure to feed the blasters,” Fergusson told the journalist. “The content creator who’s an influencer or is a tastemaker will be out there saying, ‘There’s nothing to do.’”

Fergusson explained that this demand from players is the reason why the game is currently “tuned very fast”, a complaint that has been echoed by fans of slower ARPGs like Diablo 2. With this in mind, players who speed through content have been the focus on the game since launch, but slower players are being left behind.

“You start to worry a little bit, because, you’re like, ‘We have 12 weeks, 10 weeks’. People need stuff to do, and if you can go through it this quickly… You start to go: ‘Okay, what can we be doing and how do I think about how fast this is?’

“Then, literally this morning, my X thing goes off and I look at the notifications and it’s a person saying, ‘Hey, I just wanted to tell you I love the current season. I only get to play three hours every weekend. I’m actually making progress. It feels great.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, can’t forget about those guys.’”

Blizzard’s work on Diablo 4 is far from done. While the game won’t be receiving annual expansions, more expansions are being planned and the game will continue to receive new seasons. With changes in release schedules to create less buggy updates, players should hopefully continue to be satisfied.

For more Diablo coverage, read about creator David Brevik’s thoughts on why modern ARPGs fail to be as satisfying as classics. Additionally, listen to our podcast interview with the creator right here on VideoGamer.