Blizzard first announced the existence of Diablo 4 at BlizzCon 2019. Since then, the studio has made a promise to keep fans up to date with the game’s progress. Interestingly, the first Progress Update is expected to start sometime in February next year.
Following the aforementioned update, newer ones will start coming on a “quarterly” basis. In an official blog post courtesy of Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga, the studio detailed their plans for keeping fans and players alike updated with the entire development of the game. Part of this goal is to showcase behind-the-scenes progress reports, so people will know more about the current status of the game’s development.
"We’ve been taking this week to assess and discuss our takeaways from BlizzCon, and we love all the deep discussions happening around the art, features, systems, and world of Diablo 4," Barriga said in the post. "We’re also excited about a cool update we’re planning for you in February of next year. It will be the first in a series of quarterly updates where we’ll share behind-the-scenes looks at our progress going forward."
Barriga also talked about the ever-present discussion around how the developers will be handling items and stats in the upcoming title. Even more so, he acknowledged the “burning” interest players have in the ongoing topic.
In the letter, Barriga assured the community that his team will handle these issues in a way that will satisfy all concerned fans. He says that it is their main priority, adding they will release more information about the topic coming shortly from Diablo 4 lead systems designer David Kim.
"We also know that one topic is burning hotter than the rest," said Barriga. "We want you to know that we are having the same conversations about items and stats that you are having—whether on the official discussion threads or external sites, we read it all! Getting this right is at the top of our minds, and in the coming weeks our lead systems designer David Kim will provide a few clarifications, share some of his thoughts, and address some of your open questions."
Diablo 4 was revealed at BlizzCon 2019 with a lengthy cinematic trailer and a gameplay trailer. Right now, Blizzard has no official release date announced for the sequel.
