The last event to build souls around Diablo’s Sins of the Horadrim content, by Blizzard, went off at the deep end when Rhykker entered the picture. Chromatic materials of Rhykker fighting through the game were posted by the official Diablo Twitter handle while the game officially happened live on Twitch. The responses to the announcements showcased ridicule, creation of memes, and full-scale condemnation by the players.
The tweet regarding the announcement of the Rhykker stream soon underground into the complaints on how Diablo is, in its present stage, @MadMatikus spoke up: “Game is dog shit.” @Qzzz84, on the other hand, joked back: “Id rather sleep then play Diablo, thats how interesting it is.” Ouch.
The critiques of the game did not stop there, with suspicion being cast on Rhykker paid shilling. @Celtics_fan78 commented, “No thanks. Don’t watch shills.” In contrast, @theJthatmatters says, “The only reason he is streaming is because of being paid to do so.” Meanwhile, @lerocorp explained how streamers like Rhykker are called “Diablo partners,” hinting at Blender’s involvement in financing thy promotion.
The list of grievances only grew from there. They complained about bugs and battle passes. @XLegendsXxX yelled: “FIX YOUR GAME ITS HORRIBLE WAY TOO MANY BUGS WHICH IS MAKING GAME UNPLAYABLE.” Meanwhile, @Richard73298383 went for the battle pass system: “Your guys battle pass for this season is ass and they way you earn shit is so fucking slow.”
Much of the comments turned from sarcastic into ironic. @DanielRuettgens mocked, “poor Rhykker… we can see the pain in his eyes,” suggesting that the streamer might not be enjoying it very much. Meanwhile, @jeanvalchibre joined in: “40k viewer for a launch season my god nobody cares.”
A few players tried back to direct the conversation on a more constructive path, with @headspawn expressing disappointment with Diablo’s seasonal model: “The seasons seem mostly be for show and player retention.” Others, like @614bigbad, pleaded with Blizzard to keep in mind the longtime fans: “Think about the 20+ year fans of Diablo…. This franchise is nothing close to what it used to be.”
Some had argued Rhykker could have a handful of people left with him. @jorgesilvacl wanted Blizzard to “send him a care package or something nice,” being well aware of his dedication to the game. @veelqnexus even made the comment, “You should sponsor Frosty instead, he makes best d4 content rn.”
The backlash threw even more wedges between the Diablo players and Blizzard. While the company keeps pushing promotional streams and seasonal updates, many fans feel the very core issues of bugs, monetization, and lack of content worth playing are just turning a blind eye. Meanwhile, since Diablo 4 is still due for development, all eyes remain on Blizzard for any clues of appearance.
For now, though, such a response to Rhykker’s stream serves as a hard slap of reality. Certainly, if Blizzard wants to entertain players, that’s just what they’ll need to do: more than bagging streamers.
