Diablo 3 PvP stymied because it's "got to be Blizzard quality"

Blizzard is facing a number of problems in the development of Diablo 3's long-requested PvP mode, but game director Josh Mosqueira doesn't seem totally sure it will ever happen.

Spekaing with the developer at gamescom 2013, PCGamesN asked if Diablo 3's PvP mode is ever going to happen.

"That’s a really tricky question to answer. It’s got to be Blizzard quality," he said.

Mosqueira said there are three major problems with the PvP mode. First, and most simply, the "bandwidth of the team", as only a few staff are working on the possibility of PvP, while the rest are focused on newly-announced expansion Reaper of Souls.

That seems like an easy problem to solve, but the next is built into the game's design from the ground up.

"In Diablo, the core mechanics are really built around one character fighting scores of monsters, right? There’s a lot of control, a lot of AOE, and some of that stuff starts to not necessarily break down, but it starts to fray at the edges when you’re actually now focused on two people, or four people," Mosqueira said.

Finally, Blizzard is struggling to make PvP a thing that could be played at all levels, not just endgame.

Blizzard has cancelled Diablo 3's deathmatch mode, but duelling has been available on the test server.