Diablo IV: Joe Shely replaces Luis Barriga, who was fired along with two of the game’s designers over the summer amid allegations of sexual harassment. It looks like the creators and production are going through hell.

Despite all the problems Activision-Blizzard has been going through, lately, development on Diablo IV has not stopped. Although some of its team have been affected by the wave of harassment allegations, Blizzard has moved past that and on to its next production, so much so that it has already announced a new director, Joe Shely, to replace the recently fired Luis Barriga.

Joe Shely was introduced to the position in a post on the developer’s website, where he expresses his pride in the Diablo IV sequel: “As a lead designer who has been working on the dark, shared, open-world RPG since its inception, I am proud to continue the vision of Diablo IV as its new director, and honoured to represent the team that poured its heart into this game”.

He doesn’t, however, sweep under the carpet the earthquake the company has been through in recent months, admitting that “our team has been reflecting on recent events. A lot has happened since our last edition and the hard work to deliver on the values we stand for must continue”.

As you know, Diablo 4 director Louis Barriga, Jesse McCree, the game’s lead map designer, and Jonathan LeCraft, one of the designers of World of Warcraft, have all left the company amid allegations of sexual harassment. Despite this, Blizzard and Shely want to keep working, not downplaying what happened, which has helped them reflect on what happened.

The next instalment in the Diablo franchise has been seen as a big step forward for action RPGs since it was first announced, which they claim will be achieved at a more leisurely pace to give the audience a quality creation. And while there’s still no concrete release date, this makes it clear that the production continues to move forward at an unstoppable pace (and hopefully in a more decent spirit – ed.) towards its premiere.

Source: Blizzard