Diablo IV is now available to play in the cloud… with caveats. Diablo IV is now technically playable on Boosteroid via the services “Install & Play” functionality. It’s also playable via the cloud using Shadow‘s cloud PC solution.
Boosteroid has two different types of cloud game collections. The first, called “Library,” is what we consider to provide a bonafide cloud gaming experience. This aspect of Boosteroid is similar to GeForce NOW. For games in the library, Boosteroid manages game installs and updates for you, the collection of titles can be browsed with cover art, descriptions, genre’s etc. This is where the new Xbox games that are supported on the service have landed.
Boosteroid has another collection of games, however, under the “Install” category. In this category, Boosteroid doesn’t show any game artwork on its site or include any information about the supported games other than their Title and Publisher. We can infer from this behavior that Boosteroid likely doesn’t have the same level of agreement with the publishers these games as they have for Library titles. The support for these titles is more similar to Shadow’s “Cloud PC” model than GeForce NOW.
For example, here is how Diablo IV appears of the Boosteroid site:
Every time a game is launched from Boosteroid’s Install category, the user is forced to wait as the game (they still need to own for PC) undergoes a fresh install on their cloud drive… No you don’t lose your saves, but, yes, this happens every time you launch the game.
Since, Boosteroid’s servers are pretty highly spec-ed and very well connected to the web, the process is usually quick. However, it still isn’t a great user experience… And, because there are no service agreements in place, games can and do break in this category on a regular basis.
With Shadow, your cloud drive is completely under your control to do with as you please. So, games like Diablo IV will only need to be installed once and you have direct access to your game files. The cost of Shadow is nothing to sneeze at, however. A subscription starts at just about $30 a month. About 2x the cost of Boosteroid.
