Diablo 2 creator says players treated the action RPG like a "lifestyle game" because it was fun, and MMOs like World of Warcraft had more to do with starting the live service trend

A demon towers over its foes in some Diablo 2: Resurrected concept art.

Diablo's moreish tap-and-loot loop definitely has a lot in common with some live servicey features, which are mainly aimed at keeping people on the seasonal hamster wheel forever, but the series' co-creator doesn't think Diablo was designed with the same intent.

Blizzard North co-founder and Diablo co-creator David Brevik recently chatted with the VideoGamer podcast and explained that Diablo 2 was so widely popular at the turn of the century because it was a damn good time, not because of what we now consider live service-style bits, like battle passes, never-ending updates, and shop rotations.