While the Diablo series shot the action-RPG genre into mainstream popularity, Mike Ybarra, an ex-president of Blizzard, doesn’t know where Diablo 4 is heading, echoing cries of the game’s players and communities. Diablo 4 has been plagued with criticism, beginning at launch when Blizzard announced the title would always be online. This has only grown as each season has repeated the same cycle without addressing the core problems of the game. With the 2025 roadmap released for Diablo 4, Ybarra has weighed in on the game’s current state and future, and it doesn’t appear that he feels positive about what’s coming up.
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Mike Ybarra had been at Blizzard for four years, serving as president of the company for two years. Diablo 4 launched during this time but has continued on since Ybarra’s departure. Since then, it has seen eight seasons and its first DLC, Vessel of Hatred. Blizzard has also shared its roadmap for 2025, and this is partly what caused Ybarra to comment.
While Ybarra addresses several issues with Diablo 4, the standout comment from Ybarra comes in his fourth point. With this, he directly addresses his main issue with Diablo 4.
“If the cycle continues to just ship without fixing the fundamental issues, then I’m not sure where Diablo is going,” Ybarra said. “You can add all the end-game activities you want, but you’ll be running in place with the same issues. At some point there’s just so many random things, it’s not worth the effort.”
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Diablo 4 seems to follow the same schedule of shipping new content that is broken at launch and then spending time fixing it, only to repeat this each season. The end-game needs to be revamped and the expansion schedule should be yearly, according to Ybarra. He also believes Diablo 4 should lessen the story investment when adding new content.
Many of these thoughts are echoed by the community, especially the hardcore fan base. Comparisons are often made to Path of Exile 2, which, even in early access, has seen better reception than Diablo 4. Grinding Gear Games is smaller than Blizzard, but it seems to have dialed into what makes a great ARPG and what the fans want. It’s clear Blizzard needs to make a change with Diablo 4, which may simply be stepping back and reevaluating the future of the game.
