Blizzard’s Diablo IV released June 5, 2023 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One PlayStation 4 and 5, and Microsoft Windows, over ten years since its last mainline entry Diablo III in 2012 to praise from critics but it wasn’t as well received by gamers. Still, it became Blizzard’s fastest-selling game with record-breaking sales.
As it originally launched on Blizzard’s application, battle.net, the Steam release was delayed till October 17, 2023. Despite the time gap to evaluate features commonly critiqued, such as the Battle Pass, abundance of microtransactions, user interface issues, $70 price tag, and frequent server issues, the Steam version was still greeted with the mixed reviews that have plagued the game since launch. This isn’t the only Blizzard game to have similar complaints in recent times, with Overwatch 2 becoming the worst user-rated game of all time on Steam in August 2023.
After delaying Diablo IV second season titled “Season of Blood,” by a few hours on October 17, 2023 following technical issues, players are pleasantly surprised by the quality-of-life changes, but issues still feast on the vampire-themed season. The revised features include a resistance and damage mechanics rework, unique items becoming “more exciting and impactful,” and plans to better balance classes–all addressing common complaints following the initial launch. Additionally, vampiric enemies drop a blood currency that can be used to unlock and upgrade the new Vampire Powers.
Unfortunately, Season of Blood is having its fair share of issues. Some users have reported randomly receiving the premium battle pass for free, progression not working, and cross-play between PC and console being completely disabled due to “technical issues.” There is currently no estimated time for any fixes, so some players might have to wait to sink their teeth into the new update.
Diablo IV is available for purchase on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5.