Another member of the Blizzard C-suite has opened his mouth on social media again, but at least this time it isn’t to say something actively villainous. Rod Fergusson, senior vice president of the Diablo franchise, took to Twitter last week to suggest that ARPGs should be called “Diablo-likes” instead.
“Feels like the genre of ‘ARPG’ is starting to mean a lot of different things. Much like “Souls-like” and “Rogue-like,” I wonder if we could normalize ‘Diablo-like’ for ARPGs that follow the Diablo formula…” Fergusson mused aloud to the internet.
Unsurprisingly, the internet responded with some particularly spicy replies to the broadcasted shower thought. “How do you normalize ‘Diablo-like’ if nobody likes Diablo IV?” asks one reply. “I’d rather a ‘POE-like’ since it’s a far superior game,” clapped back another. Some of the other replies have ratioed Fergusson’s tweet in terms of likes, for those who put a lot of stock into that sort of thing.
Perhaps this was a reaction to the upcoming early access arrival of Path of Exile 2 and the game occupying outsized space in Fergusson’s head. Perhaps this seemed like a fun remark and was blasted forth without the careful touch of a senior dev’s wrangler. Either way, we’re all getting an early holiday treat of executive chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
I wish d4 was a diablo like
— Mechanix (@Mechanix_8515) November 22, 2024
