Diablo 4 Shot Itself in the Foot by Changing One Key Launch Feature

When it first launched in early access and then worldwide just a few days later, Diablo 4 was largely praised for its gameplay loop, how fun and engaging its ARPG features were, and how much of a breath of fresh air it was overall, especially coming from Blizzard. However, fans’ reception has changed massively since then, and one of the main culprits is Diablo 4‘s first season, which not only undermined some of the core conceits that made fans happy, but also introduced little incentive to play seasonal characters instead of Eternal Realm ones. The patch did a lot of damage to the game’s reputation and player morale, but one of the worst outcomes was that a key launch feature was gutted.