Diablo 4 early access launch wasn't a complete disaster
As much as we like to call out terrible live game launches, we should also point out when things work as expected.
After years of anticipation, Diablo 4 finally launched. Well, only the early access launch for players who opted for the more expensive Deluxe, and Ultimate Editions of the game.
Still, as the first time the full (paid) game is available to play, it's important for the launch to go smooth. Diablo 4 is an always-online game launching on all three major platforms, so the stakes are high.
While the real launch, coming up on June 6, will likely be substantially more challenging for Blizzard, last night's early access launch mostly went off without a hitch. Even queue times were fairly short, and many players reported staying online for hours without crashes.
It's always a good sign on when a game's subreddit isn't full of the same complaints about not being able to log in on day one. Apart from that, there were two major problems, and it seems only one of them can be blamed on Blizzard.
The first is the most common/confusing, because it occurred for a large number of PlayStation 5 players. That's the Invalid License error, which prevented players from being able to log in. Continuously trying would also result in the Too Many Requests error.
The problem has been widely discussed on Blizzard's forums, as well as Reddit and elsewhere. Blizzard quickly acknowledged it, promising to alert relevant team members. The issue started resolving itself shortly after, and has been almost completely fixed at the time of writing.
During the few hours following all the confusion, some players managed to get around the problem by... buying anything on the PlayStation Store. Initiating a purchase apparently fixed it for some players, so many simply bought the cheapest bundle of Diablo 4's in-game currency ($2).
The other issue has instead been affecting some PC players, and it simply prevents them from being able to log into the game. The problem was that the Battle.net launcher wasn't reconsigning their early access status. In other words, it was as if it didn't think the player owned the Deluxe/Ultimate Edition.
Blizzard posted a few steps that you can follow, which refresh the store cache and clear whatever was blocking it. You can first try to change the launcher region by logging out, picking a different region through cogwheel icon, then logging back in.
Reinstalling Battle.net, or resetting your password are all things you can do to force the cache to reset. If none of that works (and you're certain you own either of the two editions), Blizzard recommends submitting a support ticket.
If you too jumped in and it's been smooth sailing, or if you're planning to start your journey today, don't do so without changing these settings. You should definitely also read our crucial tips - you'll thank us later.