In late May, Blizzard Entertainment launched the 14th ranked season in Diablo II: Resurrected. Project lead producer Matthew Cederquist spoke with Polygon and revealed some statistics.
According to the developer, during the first month (i.e., the period from February 11 to March 11), players spent approximately 93.4 million hours playing the Reign of the Warlock expansion. During this time, players managed to create about 1.92 million warlocks.
Matthew suggested to the management to create an expansion for Diablo II as a PR move for Blizzard:
I always knew I wanted to do something more with Diablo 2 because there are so many fans who were literally screaming at the top of their lungs to be given anything [new]. [With this DLC] we could play on emotions not only about Diablo itself, but also Blizzard as a company.
His team developed the new class (Warlock) in collaboration with the creators of Diablo IV. He really enjoyed suddenly releasing the expansion and watching "people's jaws drop thanks to the team's work":
The fact that this [expansion] came out of my head and became a reality is incredible.
Players in Diablo II: Resurrected in Season 14 are offered several game modes – they can complete only the four classic acts of the campaign or five + the content of the Lord of Destruction expansion. A small patch with changes, including for the Warlock, was released along with the start of the season.
When the Polygon journalist asked Matthew if Blizzard had other plans for major updates for Diablo II, the developer evasively replied:
Let's enjoy the moment, gather feedback, understand if there's anything else to do, let's enjoy the 14th ranked season. We have nothing to talk about right now.