Diablo 4 has been released on June 5, and fans are more than excited about it. Launching for the PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X/S|One, and Windows platforms, it was already available for players who pre-purchased the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of the game. Reviews of the game have been pretty stellar so far, and the “early access” release was smooth with little to no issues. It has been a long wait for Diablo fans, as the last game in the series was released way back in 2012. So, it was pretty understandable when fans couldn’t stop talking about the game after it was announced in 2019. Blizzard promised a fun game to its Diablo fans, and it seems like they have pretty much delivered on the promise. Diablo 4 isn’t an innovative title that shakes the foundation of an entire genre (which not every game needs to be), but it manages to be a good game, albeit one laid with microtransactions. Now that Diablo 4 is finally here, some players have been wondering if the game can be paused during their playthrough.
While pausing is an interesting little feature that has been in video games since the early days, today it sits in a peculiar place in the larger video gaming world. Single-player games have this option, but in the last few years, even some of them have started to kind of “ignore” it. One of the best examples of this statement is From Software’s 2022 masterpiece, Elden Ring. If you have played that game, you are well aware of the fact that it doesn’t have a dedicated pause button. Why? Immersion! And if you happen to be an MMO veteran, you already know that those games too don’t offer a pause option. So, where does Diablo 4 stand in all of this? Does it have a pause option? If yes, then how do you pause the game? Let’s find out!
Diablo 4: How to pause game
We will cut right to the chase. Currently, you can’t pause your playthrough in Diablo 4. Why? Simple, really!! Diablo 4 happens to be an online-only game, and you can’t pause online games. Now, if it were to offer an offline-only option, maybe then a pause game feature would make sense; however, that’s not the case
Suffice it to say that the game will never have a pause option. At least as long as the game remains online only. However, in the future, if Blizzard decides to include a single-player offline mode in Diablo 4, they might include a pause option. However, that’s probably not going to happen, maybe ever.
So, why exactly can’t you pause online games? When you play any multiplayer/online game, real-time data is sent to the server. From enemy movements to frame data, everything is being communicated to the server at the same time you are interacting with the game. Since you are not the only one playing the game, pausing doesn’t make sense in such a setting.
Anyway, now you know all about pausing in Diablo 4. For more guides on Diablo 4, don’t forget to bookmark DigiStatement.
Also, read: Diablo 4: How to unlock the Campaign Skip feature
