Diablo 4's 30th Anniversary Event Slammed by Path of Exile Co-Creator

Ever felt like a game you love is being disrespected by its own creators? That's exactly how Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson feels about Diablo 4's upcoming 30th anniversary event.

In a YouTube video, Wilson didn't hold back. He believes Blizzard is "abandoning Diablo 4" after announcing Diablo 5 at this year's BlizzCon. According to him, Blizzard clarified there would be no more expansions for Diablo 4, only some content from a small remaining team. That roadmap includes the 30th anniversary event, Season of Hell's Legacy, which Wilson calls "pretty distasteful."

His main gripe? The event supposedly throws all the Prime Evils at you at once, without tying into the game's storyline. "Diablo 4 was slowly building up to you eventually getting to fight the Prime Evils, and then they introduce them all at once in this special event that isn't really tied into the game's storyline," he says. He also points out that Deckard Cain returns for the event, even though he was canonically killed in Diablo 3. For Wilson, this makes it seem like "causality and story events" don't matter, and "that we shouldn't take them seriously."

Then there's the on-stage moment where Blizzard called Diablo himself "the birthday boy." Wilson finds that disrespectful to the Lord of Terror. "If your franchise is called Diablo, and you've made billions of dollars from games that sell a fantasy of players working towards getting to confront and defeat Diablo, the Lord of Terror, then you should treat him with the utmost respect," he states. Ouch.

Despite his criticism, Wilson is "tentatively hopeful" for Diablo 5. He likes that it's going back to more RNG-heavy world design, has a truly desolate worldview, and even appreciates the font choice for the logo. Diablo 5 will tell "three stories" across the past, present, and future, with biomes that change shape depending on which of Diablo's minions is in charge.

So, what do you think? Is Wilson right to call out Blizzard, or is this just harmless anniversary fun? Let us know in the comments!