Blizzard reveals shocking Diablo 4 stat as almost every player runs solo

Blizzard has revealed that the vast majority of Diablo 4 players run the game solo. They expect that to change with the launch of Vessel of Hatred.

Diablo 4 has a number of social features baked into the game to facilitate a multiplayer experience. Teaming up in a party can help you push more difficult content and is the reason players can achieve things like hitting Harcore level 100 in under two hours.

Despite that, the co-op tools on offer in Diablo 4 have often been maligned by players who call it the “loneliest” multiplayer game available. It shouldn’t be surprising that players prefer to play the game solo but just how many do is a bit of a shock.

In an interview at Gamescom 2024 with popular streamer Annacake, Director of Diablo 4’s upcoming Vessel of Hatred expansion Brent Gibson revealed that 85% of players choose to play solo. Gibson broke down how the DLC looks to change that.

Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred is introducing the Dark Citadel, a dungeon experience that is designed solely to be run in a group. Part of the reason for that is that the number of people who play Diablo 4 cooperatively is actually increasing.

“One of the things that we’re seeing is that the number of people who like to play with others is slowly growing over time,” Gibson explained. He attributed a large part of this to the game’s launch on Xbox Game Pass which apparently brought a younger audience to Diablo 4.

“We’re getting a large number of people who don’t know a world without playing together and we expect that to grow steadily,” Gibson continued. To that end, the Vessel of Hatred expansion will also launch with a long-requested Party Finder mechanic.

“The whole point of adding Party Finder is to have a really high-quality way of getting people to try co-op and reach out to other players,” Gibson elaborated. “We want to have a really healthy version of finding others to play all the activities in the game, not just Dark Citadel.”

It appears that by streamlining the co-op experience, Blizzard expects that the number of players who prefer party play will grow from its current 15%. The addition of Mercenary NPC companions may also offer solo players a taste of what it’s like to team up with others.

Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion launches on October 8, 2024. We’ll have to see whether or not the new content and mechanics have an effect on players choosing to party up.