Diablo 4 likely won't be the next Diablo III: it will be, in many respects, a bold new direction for the franchise. Plus, building out the systems necessary to maintain such a game over the long term is a large endeavor unto itself. Last week, some fearless Diablo 4 players unplugged their internet to confuse the action RPG into letting them take non-seasonal characters into the seasonal mode. Wedding the game-as-a-service philosophy with the tried-and-true Diablo formula will take a lot of care, attention, and, most of all, time.

While the Seasons system in Diablo III has allowed fans to remain engaged with that game, a full-on service-oriented title is a whole new ballgame. Building a title that can stand up to that long test of time, and have the infrastructure necessary to constantly push new content, is no small feat: just ask the team that turned the failed Titan project into Overwatch.

Blizzard may even possibly be looking to make it a long-running game-as-a-service, in which case it may be the only new Diablo game for a decade or more. A new investigation into Diablo 4's development has painted a picture of chaos and mismanagement at Activision Blizzard, reportedly resulting in a dash to meet a release date - said to be.

To that end, Diablo 4 can't just be a fun game: it needs to be able to support an active fanbase for years.

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