Blizzard announced last month that the original Starcraft would be undergoing a remaster and the current version would become free to the public. The remaster will include options for 4K graphics, 1080p cutscenes, upgraded audio all while keeping the core gameplay intact. This has led into fans asking for a similar remaster to another Blizzard classic: Diablo 2.
Diablo 2 was released at the turn of the century back in 2000 as a PC and Mac exclusive. It paved the way for Battle.net to become what it became. The game still receives updates here and there. In March 2016, support for Windows 7 and newer operating systems was added in the form of a patch. The game still has a fanbase today but it is dwindling since the game hasn’t changed much over the years in terms of gameplay and balancing.
David Brevik, best known as the co-founder of Blizzard North, the company behind the Diablo series, spoke about a potential remaster of Diablo 2 in the Diabloii.net podcast. He mentions it would be difficult and says many of the assets are around anymore. He says the studio would have its work cut out for them but it isn’t as straightforward as some fans would like to think. He is a fan of remasters themselves but warns you have to be careful with them.
If you do a remaster, this is going to sound terrible, I am going to sound like an old fogey here, but kids these days don’t understand how games were made back then. They were nothing like they’re made today. Everybody would just make 3D artwork and put it on a 3D grid which works except for it doesn’t work. Because the moment that you change the fundamental way that you interact with the game and you move around the world, you’re changing the game.
David Brevik created the Action-RPG, Marvel Heroes, which was often compared to Diablo. It basically takes the Diablo formula but replaces the characters with ones from the Marvel universe. A console version of the game has been announced for PS4 and Xbox One and it will be free-to-play like the PC version.
As of 2016, Brevik has been working as an adviser on the Chinese release of Path of Exile for Grinding Gear Games according to PC Gamer. Path of Exile is another game that is similar to the Diablo series and many fans look at it as the true successor to Diablo 2.
The actual Diablo 2 successor, Diablo 3, has its new Necromancer class coming to the game later this year and it just recently opened up seasonal play on both consoles and PC.
