Diablo 4 was designed "from the beginning" to appeal to newcomers

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You won't need to read a book or watch a YouTube video to understand what's going on

DIablo 4's Inarius close to smiting down a foe
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4 is designed to appeal to players who have no familiarity with the series at all.

"That was the goal from the beginning," Diablo 4 general manager Rod Fergusson tells GamesRadar+ about appealing to newcomers. "We wanted to expand the audience," the senior Blizzard developer continues, adding, "We want to be able to bring in new players who haven't experienced [Diablo], and we don't want them to be scared by the number four."

"It's been designed with a lot of meaningful decisions around, 'how do we get new players in', and one of them is the placement of where the story takes place, which is about 50 years after Diablo 3," Fergusson continues. The general manager adds that enough time has taken place between Diablo 3 and 4 that you don't need to know the previous games to enjoy this new story.

Fergusson even says Diablo 4's tutorial has been designed with newcomers in mind, so they're not "paralyzed with choice" once they step out into the open world. Fergusson says the new game gives players time and room to consider what they're seeing for the first time, like Diablo 4's vast skill trees, which should help newcomers.

Elsewhere in the same interview, Fergusson told us Diablo 4's servers are prepared for launch, but there are going to be some factors you just can't account for, like the sheer number of players trying to access the new game on launch day.

Check out our Diablo 4 Barbarian build and class guide if you're looking to hit the ground running as a Barbarian in early access later this week.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.