Rebuilding Sanctuary: The Making of Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred with Blizzard

“An expansion is not about fixing; it's about evolving,” Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred’s Associate Game Director Zaven Haroutunian tells me. “And if we do our job, they are expanding and evolving toward solving existing problems. That’s a win-win. I look at our teams as being heavy hitters when it comes to this stuff. They're operating at such a high level, and they've got enough experience under their belt where they can do just that.” Diablo IV debuted three years ago, and like previous entries in the groundbreaking action-RPG series, it has been evolving and expanding ever since. From regular seasonal updates and overhauls of existing systems to new activities and a story-driven campaign in the form of Vessel of Hatred, there’s been a lot. With that, Diablo IV’s second major expansion, Lord of Hatred, on paper might sound like more of the same, albeit supercharged. Instead of one new class, there are two, with the return of the fan-favourite sword-and-board-wielding Paladin and the new demonology-and-apocalyptic-fire-obsessed Warlock. And with the action shifting to the Mediterranean-inspired and ancient Amazon homeland of Skovos, you’ve got the ideal setting and all of the pieces i