In order to meet Diablo 4’s June 2023 release date, crunching was necessary, according to developers involved with the game in a recent report.
Earlier this week at The Game Awards, Blizzard revealed the release date for its highly anticipated follow-up, Diablo 4, which will officially launch on June 6. Earlier in the d ay, The Washington Post shared a report claiming it had spoken to 15 current and former developers of Diablo 4, who claimed it would be difficult to secure a release date without “significant overtime.”
“We’re at a point where they’re not willing to delay the game any longer,” a current Blizzard Albany employee told The Washington Post. “So we all have to go together and figure out how much we’re willing to hurt ourselves to make sure the game ships in a good enough state.”
According to reports, the Diablo team has been laying off staff for more than a year, with former employees hoping for better wages and working conditions. Diablo 4 was delayed last year until 2023, which Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick explained as the reason behind the company’s stock drop, rather than the numerous lawsuits the company faced alleging discrimination and harassment.
A former Diablo 4 team lead explained that the comment “felt like he just drove the bus over us.” A spokesperson for Blizzard Entertainment told The Washington Post that the company “regularly [surveys] The team is concerned about their professional well-being, and the latest results are the most positive they’ve seen in years. In contrast, a current Blizzard Albany employee spoke of the frequent 12-hour work days they experienced at the company. ’ the employee said. ‘It affected my ability to enjoy things. ”
The full report goes into more detail about the so-called ongoing issues Blizzard is still facing, and it’s worth reading to understand the full scope of things.