Summer is approaching, outdoor aperitifs are back, we take out the Molky and the espadrilles while dreaming of swimming pools and the seaside. Not for fans of Diablo. The fourth installment in the video game saga releases this Tuesday, June 6, and for all its followers, that means the next few weeks are going to be synonymous with long hours wandering the dark halls of a dangerous dungeon populated by monsters.
We must try to understand these players who will flee the sun (and sleep): they have been waiting for the release of this fourth episode for more than ten years. The Diablo, antagonist of the first games is no more, but Lilith, his niece, has taken over. Without assuming sales figures for this game, we can, without risk, bet on a massive success. The game is cult, and the expectation has been expertly maintained by Blizzard, the studio that develops the game.
A long but necessary wait
Diablo IV isn’t the only game to be overdue. Currently, fans of GTA watch for the slightest news, sometimes contradictory, on the release of the sixth opus, expected for this year, ten years after episode 5.
There are many reasons for the length of these waits. The technical development time for games first tends to increase. The arrival of a new generation of consoles has also required studios to adapt technologically. There may also be marketing reasons (to make the most of the notoriety of the licenses) or artistic reasons (with developments taken over from top to bottom after a change of direction). And even external setbacks: consequences of the Covid pandemic, financial restructuring of studios… These waiting times between two opuses of a video game license have thus become the norm. But for what consequences for the players?
Have you ever waited impatiently for the release of a video game? Tell us about this expectation. Have you monitored every micro information to deceive impatience? Did you pass the time by immersing yourself in other games? Have you ever lost your patience to the point of finally not playing the game once released? Do you appreciate these waiting times or do you find it unbearable?
Tell us about your endless waiting experiences in the comments or in the form below. Your answers will be used to write a future article.