After about 11 years, the next numbered Diablo game, Diablo 4, seems to finally be nearing its release date. That date has not yet been revealed, but Activision-Blizzard has announced an open-beta for the game, running from March 17th to March 19th. Of course, this is only for those that pre-order the game. Everyone else will have to wait until the public beta running from March 24th to the 26th.

As we like to say often on this blog of ours, please try not to pre-order games. There’s usually almost no advantage to you for doing so, and it helps ensure that big publishers can continue making bad, broken or just plain mediocre games. In this case, fans will get to try the game regardless of whether or not they pre-order, and they would do well not to trust Activision-Blizzard to produce a good Diablo game.

After everything that’s happened with that publisher these past few years: tons and tons of layoffs, a massive push for MTX-ridden “games,” constant disrespecting of their fanbase, and many more unsavory issues, fans should absolutely be wary of anything the company puts out. Just look at all their most recent games: Overwatch II, Diablo: Immortal and Warcraft III: Reforged. Each was an amazing opportunity to do something fans would love, and each time the company did everything it possibly could to ensure that only its interests were reflected in the design and execution.

Why would Diablo 4 be any different. Further, after over a decade of public “betas” and the largely unchanged releases that follow them, we can be certain that whatever people play next month is basically what’s going to launch later on. At the very least, play it first and see if you like it before pre-ordering, because that’s almost certainly what you’re going to be buying.

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Do you still trust Activision-Blizzard to make a quality game? What makes you think Diablo 4 will be any different from any of the company’s recent, massively profitable releases?

Image from the Diablo IV website