Diablo 4 Esports Won't Have Blizzard's Official Support

gamerant.com:

Blizzard has confirmed that it has no plans to support Diablo 4 esports at this time. Esports in ARPGs isn't traditionally a major endeavor, as competition tends to focus heavily on PvE progression in high-difficulty settings. For example, each season of Diablo 3 launches a race among its community to climb the Hardcore mode leaderboards. Blizzard is bringing back direct PvP in Diablo 4, however, which led many to question if a proper esports scene might be possible. It may yet be, but not with Blizzard's support.

Diablo 4's PvP has not been fully detailed by Blizzard yet. The ARPG is set to launch in early June, so Blizzard still has over two months left to share more information. What Blizzard has said so far is that Diablo 4 will feature PvP zones named Fields of Hatred. Within these zones, Diablo 4 players will be able to attack other players freely. It's not structured PvP, but rather open-world PvP, like in an MMO. The point, according to Blizzard, is to not have to balanceDiablo 4 around PvP.

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With that in mind, it's perhaps more understandable to hear Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson state Blizzard's position on Diablo 4 esports. In a response that Fergusson shared on Twitter, he states explicitly that Blizzard has no plans to support Diablo 4 esports. That language does leave the door open for plans to change, but ARPG PvP pans probably shouldn't hold their breath.

The door is also open for Diablo 4 esports to be driven by the game's community. Many video games rely entirely on their communities and third-party organizations to host esports events. Even games that had no intention of allowing for esports can have active, popular scenes. If that happens, perhaps