Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that Diablo 2: Resurrected will receive not one but two technical alphas before release.
Speaking with PCGamesN in a recent interview, lead producer Chris Lena stated that the first technical alpha (already announced) will be only single-player. There will be a second technical alpha to follow for Diablo 2: Resurrected but which will be multiplayer to stress test the online infrastructure.
“We’re going to start with a single-player technical alpha, and then we’ll have a second technical alpha after that, which is kind of multiplayer and stress testing,” said Chris Lena. “But that’s all we have for specifics.”
The two technical alphas will allow Blizzard to not only add improvements but also changes based on player-feedback. The developer has already stated that the remastered classic will stick as close to the original gameplay as possible, but at the same time is open for balance changes if deemed necessary.
Those interested in taking part in the first, single-player technical alpha can go ahead right now and sign themselves up. A date remains to be confirmed but Blizzard has stated that the alpha will be happening soon.
Elsewhere, principal designer Rob Gallerani has confirmed that Blizzard is looking to incorporate the new DualSense features in the game. Diablo 2: Resurrected in theory could make use of the new haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the controller to make players differentiate between different spells and abilities alongside sending out varying vibration levels to give a feel of the terrain.
Diablo 2: Resurrected will be running in 60 frames per second with remastered audio and cinematics, as well as a bunch of quality-of-life improvements. The game has been given a tentative release window for late 2021 on all major platforms, including the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as well as Nintendo Switch.
