Diablo 4 - Rod Fergusson Interview

PCGamesN interviewed Rod Fergusson about Diablo 4 and its rivals:

Diablo 4’s Rod Fergusson explains how Blizzard beats its ARPG rivals

With Diablo 4 DLC Vessel of Hatred firmly on the way, PCGamesN talks with Blizzard at Summer Game Fest about the rise in ARPG competition.

Between the likes of Diablo 4, Last Epoch, and Path of Exile, ARPG fans are eating good right now. Each game offers something a little different while spurring the competition to learn from and bounce off of one another. Last Epoch delivers hundreds of skills while Path of Exile adopts the free-to-play model. So how does Blizzard stay distinctive from its rivals? Speaking exclusively to PCGameN at Summer Game Fest, Diablo series general manager and producer Rod Fergusson explains how D4 is staying ahead of the pack.

“To me, they’re ‘Diablo-likes’ in the way that we talk about soulslikes,” Fergusson says of Diablo 4 and its nearest competitors. “There are a couple of things Blizzard does really well from a production standpoint: We are able to create a level of triple-A polish to a game,  and I also find that the IP, the notion of heaven versus hell – people understand the core premise of it.”

Fergusson says that D4 is approachable and that Blizzard’s aim is to find the people who aren’t playing Diablo and to make the RPG feel easily accessible. It’s a game that’s simpler to understand, without the complex passives and skill trees you find in Last Epoch or Path of Exile.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!