Diablo 4 leaks haven’t “impacted or influenced development at all”

Blizzard has addressed the volley of Diablo 4 leaks that has hit the internet over the past few months. 

Speaking to GamesRadar+, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson admits that it's "always disappointing" when it happens, though reassures the leaks haven't impacted Blizzard's ongoing work with Diablo 4.

"Leaks are always unfortunate," Fergusson says. "They undermine the team's hard work and steal some joy from players, too – you lose opportunities to surprise and delight them. So that's always disappointing, but the team is dedicated to getting this game done. There's a lot of passion going into it, everyone loves what we're working on, and we're excited to bring it to the fans. So they haven't really impacted or influenced development at all."

Diablo 4 leaks initially started surfacing earlier this year following an alpha test limited to family and friends of Blizzard, with various images and titbits of information appearing online. That would pale in comparison to a grander leak involving over 40 minutes of gameplay spilling over the internet.

Elsewhere during our roundtable with Blizzard, Game director Joe Shely shared that Set Items will no longer be included at launch, with the team needing more time to get them right. Blizzard is currently looking at including them as part of Diablo 4’s live service, which I’m sure Diablo 3 fans will be happy to hear. 

Fergusson and Shely were also asked if Diablo 4 would feature a cow level – if you know, you know – though the pair weren’t drawn into giving too much away. 

“We never comment on there being a cow level or not – in general, with Diablo,” Shely explains. “I will say that our emphasis right now has been on setting the tone for the game. It's a much more grounded game than we've seen in the past. But the game that we're making is really only the beginning of it. We plan to add lots of stuff.”

So there you have it. If you’ve been out of the loop, one of the popular rumours around the original Diablo was that there was a cow level, leading to one actually being added to Diablo 2, complete with a cow king. The third game would have to wait until its third anniversary to get a cow level, though it did involve the ghost of the cow king alongside a cow queen, so it was worth the wait. Who knows, maybe you’ll see the ghost of both of them one day in Diablo 4. 

The Diablo 4 beta hasn’t convinced me yet, but I can’t wait to play more (cow level or not).