Following concerns expressed by Diablo 4 players about the additional inventory space restrictions, one of the game’s developers reveals why more were not included.

Joseph Piepiora, Diablo 4’s Associate Game Director, has explained the technical reasons for the limited inventory space, acknowledging the players’ frustration. The limited inventory area presents a performance issue, as loading all players and their stored items can cause memory strain. Blizzard is actively working on improving the system and has confirmed that an upcoming update will expand the inventory with an additional tab, and a separate tab for gems.

In response to a fan’s question, Joseph Piepiora, the Associate Game Director of Diablo 4, explained the technical reasons why the inventory system was not expanded beyond an additional tab. After a massive update was released concurrently with Diablo 4’s first season, the community voiced a lot of criticism and feedback about the changes. The backlash from the changes even prompted Blizzard to hold a Fireside chat a few days later, during which it confirmed its intention to roll back several alterations.

One major criticism about the first season was related to the limited inventory space in Diablo 4, especially after the introduction of a new item called Malignant Hearts. As storage space is already constrained, the influx of new gear and items only exacerbates the problem, though it appears to be a challenge that Blizzard is aware of, though the technical reasons for the limited space seem to have only served to frustrate players.

When asked why extra inventory tabs or even unlimited amounts could not be added, Joseph Piepiora, the co-director of Diablo 4, confirmed that adding inventory tabs causes a lot of memory strain as the game loads every player and their inventory items when viewed in the game. Therefore, the lack of additional tabs is not a storage issue for Blizzard, but rather a performance problem. If there are many players on screen at once, the game may struggle to load all of them and their inventory items with the multitude of additional tabs. Fortunately, Piepiora confirmed that this is an area Blizzard is trying to improve, but there is no update on this matter as of now.

Naturally, the confirmation was not well received by many who read about the issue. A lot of commenters were annoyed or frustrated with this design decision in Diablo 4’s inventory, that every character’s inventory space needs to be pre-loaded. Players feel that such level of detail serves no purpose other than causing performance-based problems for many on PCs. However, some users tried to provide some context, indicating that the system could have been implemented to prevent item duplication, aid players’ trading, or improve performance in cities/social spaces. Either way, this is a system many feel should be improved.

Although the first season has caused disappointment for many players to this point, there seems to be some hope on the horizon. In regards to inventory space, Blizzard confirmed that an upcoming update will not only add an additional inventory tab for now but also a dedicated tab just for gems. Gems have caused a lot of inventory problems so far due to how frequently they drop, which has led players to store them until they find time to use them.

Diablo 4 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

Source: GameRant