In World of Warcraft, Blizzard releases new builds on the PTR (Public Test Realm) weekly. This allows players to test and provide feedback on upcoming features before a patch is officially released. However, in the case of Diablo 4, there have been no PTR announcements despite the community backlash after the release of Patch 1.1.
In contrast, Diablo 3 had a different approach, offering a 7-day testing period for Season patches. The developers would then make additional changes before the season started based on player feedback.
As for Diablo 4, the game underwent public testing through Open Beta weekends and the Server Slam. Ever since the game was released on June 5, patches went live instantly with the patch notes being posted on the same day.
The release of Patch 1.1 stirred significant controversy. The community expressed dissatisfaction with the class nerfs, leading some players to review-bomb Diablo 4 on Metacritic. The Diablo 4 development team explained their philosophy behind the patch in a campfire chat on Friday and committed to posting patch notes at least one week ahead of release.
Maybe now more than ever, would be a good time to make future Diablo 4 patches available for testing on the PTR.
While some might expect a PTR for Diablo 4 content patches, others understand that Blizzard might have other reasons for not implementing it. One possible explanation is that the developers are confident in their ability to address issues quickly through hotfixes, making extensive testing less critical.