Given the expectation it has generated, Diablo 4 should bring together a lot of players when it launches. But will the servers hold up? Blizzard wants to be reassuring.
To say that Diablo 4 is expected is an understatement. Blizzard’s hack’n slash is about to appear, eleven years after the release of Diablo 3. The game is therefore eagerly awaited, but also with apprehension. In addition to the battle pass system which already annoys some players, some especially fear that the title is unplayable at launch, the fault of server concerns. So, should we expect problems on June 6th? Blizzard wants to reassure them.
Will Diablo 4 servers be stable on June 6?
In 2012, the launch of Diablo 3 was not easy. Server issues were rife, and it took Blizzard a while to sort things out. And the studio has unfortunately not learned from its mistakes. We had proof of this as recently as October 2022 when Overwatch 2 was officially released. Succeeding in the smallest part was a real obstacle course, the players were kicked, the waiting lists were endless. In short, a real nightmare. But that was before. In any case, this is what Joe Piepiora assures in the columns ofEurogamer. L’Associate Game Director de Diablo 4 indeed claims that the title should experience a smooth launch.
Each of the betas has been essential in understanding our own technical capabilities. And also to see what we need to do to create a better launch experience overall. So that was awesome. (…) The goal was to gather data to be sure that the launch was smooth.
Give the saving grace
More generally, Joe Piepiora praises the immense usefulness of betas. In the case of Diablo 4 in particular, he believes that they have allowed Blizzard to detect many flaws, from the most obvious to the most discreet. For him, these betas were in no way marketing. They are what allowed the studio to improve Diablo 4 – and in particular its servers – step by step. In this, they are much more useful than simple internal tests. Thus, stability concerns or those related to specific elements such as invitations, have been identified thanks to player feedback.
Moreover, the last beta could well have saved the players from a catastrophic launch. This one was held from May 12 to 14 and would have allowed Blizzard to detect problems “background”who would have “caused problems on launch”. We would like to take these statements at their word, but we will still wait for the launch of Diablo 4 June 6 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series to see it all for ourselves.
