Diablo Co-creator David Brevik is one of the most influential figures in the industry and helps to popularize the entire Action-RPG genre. His demonic dungeon crawler and its iconic sequel, Diablo 2, is widely regarded among the greatest RPGs of all time. He and some of his fellow executives split from Blizzard in 2003, working on Hellgate: London and Marvel heroes before establishing publisher Skystone Games in 2020. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Brevik at length and asked him how he felt about the current state of the series.
Diablo 4 is a game I really enjoyed, but I definitely feel stuck in the rut at the moment. The seasonal updates are by no means truly innovative, and there’s a sense that Blizzard is wary of being too bold to avoid alienating some of its huge fanbase, as seen in the latest developer chat. Instead of exciting and novel mechanical changes, you get expensive Starcraft skins. In the meantime, the remastered Diablo 2 revival has remained largely unchanged for the past few years despite the first additions since launch.
Brevik believes that game development at any scale is difficult these days, but especially for the biggest names. “I mean, I’ve seen so many triple-A and double-A things being cancelled over the past two years. It’s just cruel and really difficult for a huge game. It’s very dangerous. There’s a lot of competition. It’s very different from 20 years ago.” He suggests this explains the trends of a new studio, “a team of veterans who have been doing this for a long time but want a triple-A because of how unstable it has become.”
Blizzard’s plans with Diablo 4 have evolved through DLC, but have already retreated from the first year’s rollout, with the next expansion not scheduled until 2026. Brevik says the vast size of the D4 is difficult to implement dramatic changes. “I think whenever you have a big game and you make any changes at all, there are people who are happy with it and are a bit vocal about it.
“Doing anything is just really stressful. And you put it aside and say, “Hey, I believe in the direction we’re going here. I believe in what we’re doing. I think that’s difficult. And whenever you’re doing something like that,
Brevik speculates that the vast number of games released each year will lead to many players sticking to their favorites. “There are so many products and so many cool games out there, so it’s really hard to track and play everything. I think that’s another reason why people are drawn to these particular products (like Diablo 4). “Oh, I really liked playing this.
Today, innovation tends to come from small studios. The first Diablo was originally heavily inspired by things like Rogue, and we are now fully committed to the recent trends of Roguelikes. “All of Diablo’s roots are based on Rogue and such a system,” says Brevik.
I feel that this is especially true for games like Vampire Survivor and Megabonk, who basically distill ARPG loops into their most basic form. Recently, the definition of “roguelike” has become much broader than its original use, but Brevik says, “That’s whether the term “action RPG” really comes to exist.
As someone whose job involves explaining new games to people, genres certainly have value, but I have argued that the science that defines them is rather mushy, especially since developers combine influences. “I think you’re seeing more and more mixed genres,” Brevik said. “It’s really hard to categorize anything.” One great example is Skystone-Published Tyrant’s Realm, which launched in January and is a blend of PS1-inspired visuals, measured Dark Souls Combat, and Roguelike renewable viability.
“I love that style of game,” Brevik tells me, “When we first signed, there weren’t many games like that. It had a retro vibe and I appreciated it.” He says the team felt that they were “very happy” in their response to Tyrant’s realm and a more approachable way to tackle soul-style combat. “I’m not very good at those games – I love playing them, but I’m not very skilled. Mixing the elements of Roguelike that I really think stand out really well is really outstanding.”
To envelop things in the challenges of change, I turn the conversation into Diablo 2. This year I turned 25. As mentioned above, Blizzard initially made many additions to its remaster, introducing a completely new Runeword that opened up the possibility of additional builds. However, since the arrival of the D4, this has been pretty much stopped, but now I’ve kept it with a ladder reset. I ask if he prefers this strategy of “preserving” his creation in its original form.
“I mean, it’s definitely dangerous to flow into dangerous territory, right? You might somehow change something like the history of the product, because they don’t want to be too far from there. The more you add something, the farther it gets from the nucleus, the more dangerous it’s to balance it kind of.
Ultimately, he appears to be grateful that Blizzard continues to treat Diablo 2 with the respectfulness of having already had everything he needs to stand the test of time. “I think they did a good job, and they kind of said, ‘That’s enough for now, we’re just trying to move forward a bit, and I think it felt like a very respectful decision to me.
Which of the Diablo games is your favorite? Please tell me about PCGamesn Community Discord Server. There are plenty of ARPG enthusiasts to chat with here.
