Diablo Creator Is Concerned About The Increasingly Faster Pace Of Modern ARPGs

David Brevik, the legendary creator of the Diablo franchise and co-founder and president of Blizzard North, has expressed concerns about how modern ARPGs have become increasingly fast-paced, which could be a big issue for the genre. 

In a recent interview with VideoGamer, Brevik offered insights on the trend that he had observed: “I think that a RPGs [ARPGs] in general have started to lean into this: kill swaths of enemies all over the place extremely quickly. Your build is killing all sorts of stuff so you could get more drops, you can level up.” 

This kind of rush wouldn’t do good for the overall gaming experience, as Brevik believes that the real fun in those games is more about the journey, instead of “getting to the end.” This theory also works for MMOs, which, in his opinion, are undergoing a similar fate of rushing about leveling up. 

Brevik was the Project and Design Lead for Diablo II and is still an active player and enthusiastic about the genre even though he left the franchise in 2005. When he was asked if the 2000 title is still the best ARPG, compared with the countless titles that have been greatly inspired by it in the following more than two decades, he commented that the pacing of Diablo II is “great,” and that could be one of the qualities that helps the game being “endured.” 

“When you’re shortening that journey and making it kind of ridiculous. You’ve cheapened the entire experience, in my opinion,” Brevik concluded. 

Read the full interview from VideoGamer here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.