When it rains, it pours. Sometimes, it’s a good thing. But, unfortunately for Blizzard Entertainment, that isn’t the case right now.
It has not even been one weekend since the Diablo 4 development team apologized for the recent patch as fans pointed out several things that are wrong about the game’s debut season and its battle pass, but it appears that a much worse problem has reared its head.
Specifically, much of the player community’s chagrin is aimed at the predatory design of Diablo 4’s User Interface – a fact that the studio apparently acknowledges.
The UI tactic appears to be designed to coax players into doing unintended actions, like, for example, redeeming their Battle Pass, with minimal effort. Console players bear the brunt of this design flaw more so than others, as their controller is programmed to default to the relevant button every time they access the menu.
So Blizzard placed the 'Activate Premium Battle Pass' button right next to the button you have to constantly press to check your Season Journey.
Guess what happened to me and at least 5 others on my stream. This is straight up Malicious Design. @Diablo pic.twitter.com/99KhTR51ad
— Rurikhan (@Rurikhan) July 21, 2023
Prominent content creator and streamer, Rurikhan, fell prey to this UI trap during a live stream, decrying the design as “malicious”. His sentiments resonated with fans on Reddit and Twitter as most jumped on the hate bandwagon to criticize the feature.
This design gimmick is not an isolated incident. The gaming industry has witnessed similar ‘dark patterns’ stir up trouble in the past, leading to substantial fines and customer refunds. For instance, Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, had to cough up a hefty $245 million to settle charges related to employing such patterns, especially those that led to unauthorized charges made by children without parental consent. One user wisely noted that this one-click, no-confirmation purchase in Diablo 4 was the primary cause for losses faced by popular live-service games in court.
While the term “malicious” may sound excessive, the design choice is bad, very bad. The stark contrast between the highlighted “Activate Premium” button and the duller season challenges button raises ethical eyebrows.
In response to the mounting criticism, Diablo 4’s Global Community Development Director, Adam Fletcher, announced that the team is working on a temporary fix. The proposed remedy is to discontinue the cursor’s default alignment with the “Activate Premium” button, reducing the chance of unintentional activations.
Believe it or not, a simple fix to this issue lies with Fortnite. After facing problems of its own, Epic finally introduced a feature that required players to hold down the purchase button for a few seconds before it pushed through. This way, players could avoid accidental purchases.
The Diablo 4 player community’s outcry for transparency and user-friendly design echoes loud and clear. From this Battle Pass misclick debacle to gameplay bugs and balancing fixes, Blizzard has its work cut out for itself. Even as Blizzard endeavors to rectify these shortcomings, the community’s demand for Diablo 4 to up its game grows stronger.
After promising big things for Diablo 4 in its debut season, including two expansions, Blizzard might have to dial back on the grandeur and focus on retaining players first.
It’ll be a tough few weeks for the Diablo 4 development team, which admittedly has drawn sympathy from the community, but how they make it out of this storm will decide whether or not players stick with Diablo 4 or move on to the next best thing.
With Remnant 2 coming out on July 25 and Baldur’s Gate 3 following suit on August 3, the clock is ticking for Blizzard to give Diablo 4 players a reason to stay.
