Bad news for those eagerly awaiting the June release of Diablo 4 (opens in new tab) to include overlay maps. It has been confirmed that there are currently no plans to add what has traditionally been a staple of the series to the latest installment.

It is safe to say that the Diablo 4 beta in March was a huge success. Not only did over a million people reach level 20 (open in new tab) during the early access period, but player feedback was generally quite positive, although the definition of "closed beta" was somewhat questionable.

Of course, there is always criticism. Most of them were valid concerns about the quality-of-life features, and one thing I consistently saw was disappointment in the lack of a map overlay. The only options were to rely on a fixed mini-map in the upper right corner of the screen, or to open a completely opaque map and have the characters stand still if they dared to look at it for more than a second. There was hope that feedback would be taken into account and a map overlay would be provided upon full release. Unfortunately, it looks like that will not be the case.

When asked if Blizzard would add this useful feature to the game, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson said, "There are no plans at this time." It seems odd that such a small change has not been implemented, given that the developer has made a large number of other feedback-related adjustments, such as revamping the dungeon layout (which opens in a new tab), adjusting classes, and changing the poorly received font selection.

The replies to Fergusson's tweet were mostly disappointing. One user replied, "It's a weird hill to remove a feature of how ARPGs are played." He added, "The current map feels very alien and inconvenient." However, some welcomed the choice. One user replied, "This way I don't have to look at 2D maps all day," while another said, "I like that there is no overlay, in [Diablo]2 I always had the overlay on and missed the beauty the team put into the world. I would tell them to turn it off."

I am definitely a team map overlay and it seems a shame that Blizzard is losing the quality-of-life feature that is so vital to the genre. there will be a developer live stream on April 20 at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm BST, so I hope some explanation will be given during the stream.