Diablo 4 may have a more open world, but the story will have "a beginning, middle, and end"
"There's a lot of things you can do that aren’t on the golden path."
Diablo 4's world will permit players to leave and pick up the story at will, but although it will "allow for non-linearity", the story will have "a beginning, middle, and end".
In an interview with IGN, Diablo 4 director Joe Shely and general manager Rod Fergusson opened up on what the new adventure has in store for fans of the franchise, as well as give a little insight into how the game's storytelling mechanics will differ from the Diablo games that have come before it.
"One of the concerns about putting 'open world' in a big neon and flashing that sign is that people have that notion of Breath of the Wild, 'oh, it’s completely organic and I can go anywhere and do anything'," Fergusson said, as transcribed by NME.
"That's not really our story. Our story allows for non-linearity, but there is a story – we wanted to have a beginning, middle, and end.
"You can actually not pursue the story for a while, that's the nice thing about the open world," Fergusson added. "There's a lot of side quests, a lot of things you can do that aren’t on the golden path."
Rumour has it, Blizzard may be set to release Diablo 4 in April 2023. According to recent reports, Diablo 4's tentative "2023" release window can be narrowed down to April, with early access reportedly launching in February, and pre-orders going live as early as next month.
ICYMI, Blizzard recently announced it was conducting closed beta tests for "players who have "recently spent significant time in Diablo endgame experiences". Some footage and details from those closed tests have leaked online.
Blizzard's Albany-based band of Diablo testers have won the right to form a union.