Diablo 4 is now in the wild, and Blizzard has announced it is the fastest-selling game in the company's long and storied history. To give that some context, this thing has sold faster than the likes of Starcraft 2 and Overwatch (as well as its own predecessors) though what that actually means in terms of hard numbers remains a mystery for now, with Blizzard opting for vagueness amidst the celebrations. The press release says Diablo 4 "is Blizzard Entertainment’s fastest-selling game of all time, with Blizzard’s highest pre-launch unit sales ever on both console and PC".
The game has been greeted with a bunch of perfect review scores (PCG's review remains in-progress until we've had enough time with the launch game) and, while there are plenty of grumbles, a generally enthusiastic reception among players. Since it launched in early access Blizzard says Diablo 4 has been played for 93 million hours "or over 10,000 years—the equivalent of playing 24 hours a day since the beginning of human civilization".
"This is a moment years in the making for the Diablo 4 team," said Rod Fergusson, Blizzard's general manager of Diablo. "We’re extremely proud to offer players the richest story ever told in a Diablo game. Players have a range of choices, including personal character customization, equipping personalized skills for battling horrific demons, or collecting Legendary loot to support your playstyle while discovering new ones [...] Hail Lilith, Blessed Mother."
I bet Fergusson's hailing Lilith, imagine the size of his Christmas bonus after this.
"This masterfully crafted expression of the Diablo universe is an outstanding example of what our talented development teams are capable of," adds Mike Ybarra, Blizzard president. "Whether you’re a veteran of the series or diving into Sanctuary for the first time, we welcome players to the global launch of Diablo 4."
The fires of Hell burn bright 🔥#DiabloIV is the fastest selling Blizzard game of all-time. pic.twitter.com/L4pdjVnWFEJune 6, 2023
Diablo 4 has had a relatively smooth launch (especially compared to Diablo 3), though there was a little bit of server buckling as everyone began to flood in with yesterday's official release. The game's long-term future is looking bright, with Blizzard already cooking two expansions, and with the Darcelpocalypse handled perhaps the developers can take a breather and congratulate themselves on a launch well done, even if exactly how well done remains a bit of a mystery.
