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So, below is an interview I did earlier this week, just nine days out from Resurrected’s launch, with two of the key people behind Activision Blizzard, principal designer Rob Gallerani and lead graphics engineer Kevin Todisco.
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MetaBeat will bring together metaverse thought leaders to give guidance on how metaverse technology will transform the way all industries communicate and do business on October 3-4 in San Francisco, CA. I don’t think that pretending Blizzard doesn’t exist anymore will help anything. We’ve heard from some Activision Blizzard employees that boycotts, while good intentioned, can do more harm than good, at least when it comes to rank-and-file employees. But I also want to address what’s been happening at Activision Blizzard and continue to report on it in hopes that the culture there can improve. I don’t want to punish the developers - most of them are not guilty of the crimes of their vile, disgraced, or incompetent superiors - by refusing to outright speak of the projects that they’re working on. I suppose this (now probably obnoxiously lengthy) intro is an attempt to justify why I think I should still cover Blizzard’s games. It made sense to have them help out with Diablo II’s reboot. Vicarious Visions already has a pedigree of making excellent remakes with its work on the Crash Bandicoot N. And this now includes Vicarious Visions, a developer that parent company Activision merged with Blizzard earlier this year. This is Blizzard’s first remake project since 2020’s disastrous Warcraft III: Reforged, which launched with bugs and missing promised features, all while making it harder to play the original (and superior version) of the game.Īgain, that’s a much lesser concern than the wellbeing and health of Blizzard’s staff. And that’s not the only shadow Diablo II: Resurrected finds itself under. Now, under the shadow of this trauma, Blizzard is getting ready to release a big game, and I imagine the usual excitement that comes with finishing a big project like this may feel muted for a lot of its development team.
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Those issues are of the utmost importance. But Blizzard has found itself encircled by controversy this year, facing accusations of harassment from former and current employees, massive leadership changes, a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and, more recently, a complaint from Activision Blizzard King workers with support from the Communications Workers of America to the National Labor Relations.
DIABLO 2 RESURRECTED PLATFORMS PC
Yes, the original Diablo II, which debuted on PC back in 2000, is one of the best action-RPGs of all time. For some gamers, it may be hard to muster much excitement. Register today.ĭiablo II: Resurrected is nearing its September 23 release date.
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Interested in learning what's next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry this October at GamesBeat Summit Next.
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