Diablo IV Season of Blood launch sputters with tech issues and delays

Fans had been anxiously waiting to try out the Vampiric Pacts and other gameplay updates, but are instead welcomed with errors updating Diablo IV. Is this really how a major update to a high-profile game should be handled?

Some fans have taken to Reddit and other social media to complain that Blizzard waited until the Eleventh Hour to announce this technical problem. Others have expressed their utter disbelief that Blizzard has disappointed them again after trying to defend Diablo IV during and after the game's mediocre launch. And others have simply resigned to the situation that it has become typical of how Blizzard has handled their games in recent years.

It should be noted that technical issues can arise without warning. Even large game developers and publishers such as Blizzard Entertainment (and by extension, parent companies Activision Blizzard and Microsoft) can be subject to the whims of unforeseen bugs and glitches. At one point, a simple loading screen issue caused hundreds of hours of gameplay in Diablo 4's Hardcore mode to be lost.

Even the highly acclaimed and fan-favorite Baldur's Gate 3 has had to deal with a buggy launch, prompting multiple hotfixes and patches. But with that said, fans have appreciated the quick and consistent response developer Larian Studios has displayed with the CRPG based on Dungeons & Dragons and the Forgotten Realms setting.

However, it does not come as a shocker that Diablo IV Season 2 opens with delays and technical issues. This is, after all, the game that was unplayable on the Sony Playstation 5 at launch. To many Diablo 4 players, a smooth beginning with Season of Blood was in doubt from the start.

Ultimately, it certainly doesn't help improve the current negative sentiment surrounding Diablo IV among fans and critics. But what do you think? Could Blizzard bounce back from the slump and bring back some of the faith that had fans excited when D4 was announced at BlizzCon 2019? Or should fans just be resigned to the fact that this has become "business as usual"?