Diablo IV: An Accessible and Inclusive ARPG
Critical reception to Diablo IV has been overwhelmingly positive. Blizzard Entertainment recently announced that it has made $666 million in global sell-through in the first five days following its June 6 launch. Part of this success is because Diablo IV is the most accessible and inclusive that the franchise has ever been.
Drew McCrory, Lead Accessibility Designer on Diablo IV, mentions in a recent Blizzard news blog, “The only limitation to adventuring in Sanctuary should be interest, not capability.” Different accessibility tools like dexterity assistance, subtitling, screen reading features, speech to text features, and more have allowed a wider range of players to play the ARPG genre. When it comes to accessibility features, players are encouraged to offer their feedback so that the Diablo IV team can continue to make the game an accessible and rewarding experience for everyone.
Diablo IV has also expanded character customization in a new way for the series. One of the most important goals of this was to give everyone the opportunity to see themselves in Sanctuary. One streamer, known as Actually Arcane on Twitch, shared her emotional reaction to seeing the druid class and body type. She described that she had never felt so seen in a character creation screen. “She looks like me. She’s built like me.”
The Diablo IV art team worked to make the character creator include a broad, inclusive range of choices for players to choose from. One resource that the team utilized was the company’s Inclusive Game Design program. At the early stages of development, the art team collaborated with the program and employee networks to identify preliminary customization options and suggestions. Together, the team determined next steps for what would evolve into the current character creation screen.
Other players have similarly voiced their appreciation for the character creator. Tanya DePass (Future Class 2020) expressed her enthusiasm towards the initial character creation options being randomly generated, allowing for characters to start with darker skin tones and textured hairstyles. Another twitter user says, “As someone who has mild vitiligo, this is really special to see as a skin option in the game.”
Players have logged on for more than 276 million hours since Diablo IV was released, and the team is committed to the game’s longevity and success. The world that Inarius and Lilith created might seem bleak, but Diablo IV’s exciting future (where all players are welcome) is bright.
See you in Sanctuary.
Noelle Mazurek (she/her) is one of the producers for Diablo IV at Blizzard Entertainment, where she manages the character pipeline on Diablo IV. She also proudly supports DE&I efforts on the team. Noelle is recognized as part of the 2022 Future Class and as a “Next Gen Leader” by the IGDA Foundation.
