Blizzard turns 35 this month, and as part of the celebrations, Diablo 2: Resurrected got a new expansion, Reign of the Warlock. It's headlined by the Warlock class, and though that's certainly exciting, being the first addition of its kind in years, the co-creator of Path of Exile believes more emphasis should've been on "new exploration content."
Chris Wilson, a former lead designer on Path of Exile and a long-time Diablo fan, went through his thoughts in a video. "I think this may have been a strategic mistake," he starts, on the lack of a new act or something else substantially exploration-based.
"My issue with this update is that without an act, it essentially boils down to a new character class, some quality-of-life features, and some new endgame content," he continues, noting these facets "are only really relevant" to long-time fans.
"Most people don't re-engage with a game just because it has a material stash tab or an uber-variation of the ancients fight," he argues. "They want new experiences from it. A new act would've pretty much guaranteed that everyone who had a chance of re-engaging with Diablo 2 would've purchased and played the update."
It's his estimation that the reason there isn't any new storytelling is that it would've likely caused an "extra year of development," when the company was dead set on commemorating its own anniversary and the series turning 30. "I feel this would've paid for itself several times over," he adds.
On top of that, Wilson contends the Warlock was mis-marketed during Blizzard's showcases. Anecdotally, his friends were all excited for the character after the initial announcement, watching all the supplementary materials surrounding it. But because the publicity went hard on late-game aspects, it took out some of the appeal.
"This is something that I learned the hard way with Path of Exile," Wilson admits. "You want to show enough to interest people, but if you show everything, people may skip playing that update entirely because they've seen it all already."
He makes a valid point in terms of selling the expansion - a new dungeon and some fresh narrative help make any DLC seem chunky and worthwhile, especially to more casual fans. That said, perhaps Blizzard only had the diehards in mind. It'll be fascinating to see how many choose the Warlock and find it to play in the coming months, and regardless of anyone's feelings, this all just goes to show how unstoppable Diablo 2 remains, even after 26 years.
