Enlarge / "OK EVERYONE QUEUE UP! NO ONE GETS IN THIS SERVER PORTAL UNTIL YOU QUEUE UP!" (credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard says it's "really confident" that the upcoming launch of Diablo IV will not be subject to the infamous server issues that plagued the launch of Diablo III over a decade ago.

That quoted vote of confidence comes from Diablo IV Art Director John Mueller, who told Eurogamer that the game's March beta tests and recent "Server Slam" test weekend gave the team valuable perspective on how the game's infrastructure will function when millions of early adopters try to log in at once on June 5 (or June 2 if you paid for early access ).

"It's not a marketing thing," Mueller said of the beta tests. "It's really about getting that information so we know day one is going to be as good as we can possibly make it and that we just feel confident going in. So, currently right now, we feel really confident."

Enlarge / "OK EVERYONE QUEUE UP! NO ONE GETS IN THIS SERVER PORTAL UNTIL YOU QUEUE UP!" (credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard says it's "really confident" that the upcoming launch of Diablo IV will not be subject to the infamous server issues that plagued the launch of Diablo III over a decade ago.

That quoted vote of confidence comes from Diablo IV Art Director John Mueller, who told Eurogamer that the game's March beta tests and recent "Server Slam" test weekend gave the team valuable perspective on how the game's infrastructure will function when millions of early adopters try to log in at once on June 5 (or June 2 if you paid for early access ).

"It's not a marketing thing," Mueller said of the beta tests. "It's really about getting that information so we know day one is going to be as good as we can possibly make it and that we just feel confident going in. So, currently right now, we feel really confident."

Enlarge / "OK EVERYONE QUEUE UP! NO ONE GETS IN THIS SERVER PORTAL UNTIL YOU QUEUE UP!" (credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard says it's "really confident" that the upcoming launch of Diablo IV will not be subject to the infamous server issues that plagued the launch of Diablo III over a decade ago.

That quoted vote of confidence comes from Diablo IV Art Director John Mueller, who told Eurogamer that the game's March beta tests and recent "Server Slam" test weekend gave the team valuable perspective on how the game's infrastructure will function when millions of early adopters try to log in at once on June 5 (or June 2 if you paid for early access ).

"It's not a marketing thing," Mueller said of the beta tests. "It's really about getting that information so we know day one is going to be as good as we can possibly make it and that we just feel confident going in. So, currently right now, we feel really confident."

Enlarge (credit: Emilija Manevska/Getty Images)

This wasn’t supposed to happen. In 2020, in a house surrounded by fields in the Irish countryside, Liam, 19, sat at his laptop, an energy drink fizzing at his elbow. He leaned in for a better look at the profile photo and, sure enough, saw the face of an old rugby friend looking back at him.

Just weeks earlier, Liam, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, had been living in Waterford, in Southeast Ireland, about to start his second year at university. Then Covid-19 shut down the city and his university’s campus. On any Saturday on the main street, there were now more pigeons than people. Pubs and cafés shut their doors, and job opportunities dried up. “Money-wise it was worrying,” he says.

Increasingly concerned, Liam responded to a Facebook ad for a “freelance customer support representative,” working remotely for vDesk, a company based in Cyprus. He was invited to an online interview. At the end of the call, the interviewer asked how he would feel about moderating dating websites.

Enlarge (credit: Emilija Manevska/Getty Images)

This wasn’t supposed to happen. In 2020, in a house surrounded by fields in the Irish countryside, Liam, 19, sat at his laptop, an energy drink fizzing at his elbow. He leaned in for a better look at the profile photo and, sure enough, saw the face of an old rugby friend looking back at him.

Just weeks earlier, Liam, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, had been living in Waterford, in Southeast Ireland, about to start his second year at university. Then Covid-19 shut down the city and his university’s campus. On any Saturday on the main street, there were now more pigeons than people. Pubs and cafés shut their doors, and job opportunities dried up. “Money-wise it was worrying,” he says.

Increasingly concerned, Liam responded to a Facebook ad for a “freelance customer support representative,” working remotely for vDesk, a company based in Cyprus. He was invited to an online interview. At the end of the call, the interviewer asked how he would feel about moderating dating websites.

Enlarge (credit: Emilija Manevska/Getty Images)

This wasn’t supposed to happen. In 2020, in a house surrounded by fields in the Irish countryside, Liam, 19, sat at his laptop, an energy drink fizzing at his elbow. He leaned in for a better look at the profile photo and, sure enough, saw the face of an old rugby friend looking back at him.

Just weeks earlier, Liam, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, had been living in Waterford, in Southeast Ireland, about to start his second year at university. Then Covid-19 shut down the city and his university’s campus. On any Saturday on the main street, there were now more pigeons than people. Pubs and cafés shut their doors, and job opportunities dried up. “Money-wise it was worrying,” he says.

Increasingly concerned, Liam responded to a Facebook ad for a “freelance customer support representative,” working remotely for vDesk, a company based in Cyprus. He was invited to an online interview. At the end of the call, the interviewer asked how he would feel about moderating dating websites.

Enlarge / The launch of Artemis I was a tremendous success for NASA. But what comes next? (credit: NASA)

The Artemis program to return humans to the Moon has an aura of inevitability now, with broad political support, robust international participation, and a successful first mission—Artemis I—under its belt.

Perhaps most critically, for Artemis, is that in a rare show of bipartisanship, both Republicans and Democrats support NASA's plan to send humans to the Moon later this decade, at least once a year, reaching a point at which astronauts stay for 30 days at a time. Crafted during the Trump administration, the Biden White House reaffirmed these Artemis plans within days of taking office. Biden diplomats have also continued to add nations to the "Artemis Accords," with two dozen countries now participating.

For all of this support, however, there is one worrying sign. The Artemis program's budget is ballooning, and it is not at all clear when humans will start flying to the Moon. These concerns were highlighted this week at a meeting of NASA's Advisory Committee for Human Spaceflight.

Enlarge / The launch of Artemis I was a tremendous success for NASA. But what comes next? (credit: NASA)

The Artemis program to return humans to the Moon has an aura of inevitability now, with broad political support, robust international participation, and a successful first mission—Artemis I—under its belt.

Perhaps most critically, for Artemis, is that in a rare show of bipartisanship, both Republicans and Democrats support NASA's plan to send humans to the Moon later this decade, at least once a year, reaching a point at which astronauts stay for 30 days at a time. Crafted during the Trump administration, the Biden White House reaffirmed these Artemis plans within days of taking office. Biden diplomats have also continued to add nations to the "Artemis Accords," with two dozen countries now participating.

For all of this support, however, there is one worrying sign. The Artemis program's budget is ballooning, and it is not at all clear when humans will start flying to the Moon. These concerns were highlighted this week at a meeting of NASA's Advisory Committee for Human Spaceflight.

Enlarge / The launch of Artemis I was a tremendous success for NASA. But what comes next? (credit: NASA)

The Artemis program to return humans to the Moon has an aura of inevitability now, with broad political support, robust international participation, and a successful first mission—Artemis I—under its belt.

Perhaps most critically, for Artemis, is that in a rare show of bipartisanship, both Republicans and Democrats support NASA's plan to send humans to the Moon later this decade, at least once a year, reaching a point at which astronauts stay for 30 days at a time. Crafted during the Trump administration, the Biden White House reaffirmed these Artemis plans within days of taking office. Biden diplomats have also continued to add nations to the "Artemis Accords," with two dozen countries now participating.

For all of this support, however, there is one worrying sign. The Artemis program's budget is ballooning, and it is not at all clear when humans will start flying to the Moon. These concerns were highlighted this week at a meeting of NASA's Advisory Committee for Human Spaceflight.