After the disastrous Diablo Immortal beta, Blizzard seems to be back on track with this one. However, according to a recent interview with Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson, the beta was fantastic.
Blizzard wanted to do a real, honest beta test this time around, rather than just using it as a marketing tool, as many other game companies do. On Friday, they were able to resolve some of those issues with quick hot fixes. By Saturday, things were running much better.
One thing I appreciated about this approach is that it felt like a return to the old days of beta testing. Back then, being in beta meant you were playing an unfinished game, and your feedback was critical to the developers' efforts to improve it. In recent years, betas have become more like demos of almost finished products.
Fergusson stated that they expected to have as many players as in the open beta this weekend, and that they exceeded their expectations. From my own experience, things went very smoothly on Friday, but by Saturday I was able to enjoy myself.
If you're interested in experiencing Diablo 4 for yourself, please click here. You may even begin preloading the game a couple of days early. I'm looking forward to seeing what the final product will be like following this promising beta.
