Activision Blizzard's Diablo IV: In-Depth Beta Testing Promises Epic Launch

Joe Piepora, the associate game director of Activision Blizzard Inc.'s ATVI upcoming "Diablo IV" aimed to alleviate fan concern surrounding the launch of the title, given the recent history of problematic AAA video game releases.

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Piepora discussed the extensive beta testing Blizzard has conducted in the past few months, emphasizing its significance in avoiding a disastrous launch.

"Every one of these betas has been transformational in terms of our understanding of our own technical capacity and what we need to do to make that a smoother launch experience in general. So it's been great," Piepora said.

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Blizzard acknowledged that they had already conducted significant internal testing before the public beta. However, Piepiora highlighted that wide-scale beta tests with real players yield more valuable data: “When you have people coming through different ISPs and coming in through different servers around the world, there’s so much more data you get from that,” the associate director said.

“And with each of those we found lots of little things that happen, like this happens with clan invitations, this happens when you join a party in a certain way—lots of little things like that across the board.”

Moreover, Piepiora clarified that the beta tests were not marketing ploys but aimed solely at gathering data to ensure a smooth launch. The goal was to identify and address any issues, rather than using the tests as demos to drive sales.

"Currently, right now we feel really confident," Piepora said. 

"Diablo IV" is scheduled for release on June 6, with early access beginning on June 2.

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