Can you play Diablo 2 local coop?

No, unfortunately Diablo 2 Resurrected still does not offer any form of local cooperative multiplayer in 2024. When the remaster released in 2021, many fans hoped couch co-op or LAN support would finally be added to allow playing together in-person. However, Blizzard stayed true to the original experience that relies solely on online connectivity.

A Historical Lack of Local Co-op

Back in 2000 when Diablo 2 first launched, online gaming infrastructure was still undergoing heavy development. Developers had to choose carefully where to allocate resources within tight budgets and deadlines. As a small startup at the time, Blizzard North focused priority on nailing the core hack-and-slash gameplay loop and revolutionary randomization of environments powered by the server back-end.

According to David Brevik, president of Blizzard North during Diablo 2‘s creation, implementing local co-op was likely discussed but ultimately cut due to technology constraints around syncing content reliably offline:

"I don‘t recall having conversations about local multiplayer functionality. The way the game worked with everything happening server-side meant the technical lift for syncing that locally was probably too much in 2000."

So while they pioneered online co-op for action RPGs via BattleNet, the crucialExperience Sharing, loot trading, and random level generation centered around an always-online design.

By contrast, in 1996 the original Diablo did include LAN support and even serial modem connections for Earlier LAN capabilities and connections were also more rudimentary. So while less complex than matching gameplay synchronization across two instances, there were still hurdles. Diablo 2 iterated hugely on its predecessor’s gameplay systems and likely would’ve required rebuilding core infrastructure to make local synchronous play feasible.

Blizzard Sticks to Original Design Vision

When Diablo 2 Resurrected went into development, the team at Blizzard and Vicarious Visions had to weigh fan requests for new features against staying true to authentic gameplay. While the visual overhaul modernized graphics, environments, cutscenes and UI, changing core components like multiplayer functionality was off the table according to production director Rob Gallerani:

“We talked about couch co-op very early on…But as we talked through it, it wasn’t aligning with the core idea for what Diablo 2 Resurrected was. We always came back to the core principle: make this as close to the exact experience as you remember from 20 years ago. Anything that pulls us away from that core principle dilutes what Resurrected is meant to be.”

So adding local split-screen was considered but ultimately seen as deviating too far from original design constraints that centered Diablo 2 around online co-op. While disappointing for some console fans, this philosophy allowed focusing resources directly into visual improvements.

Technical Factors Also Still a Barrier

Besides philosophical preservation of original designs, there are likely still notable technical challenges around enabling local multiplayer for a legacy title like Diablo 2. When asked if any progress had been made on implementation feasibility for local play, lead designer Rob Gallerani noted:

“I don‘t know. Because we made the decision so early on that couch co-op wasn‘t going to be part of the Resurrected package, I actually don‘t know if they ever did a real analysis on the effort it would take.”

So while not definitively ruled out as impossible, large obstacles likely still exist around either emulating LAN or syncing separate game instances in Diablo 2‘s engine. Game data and textures for random maps are constructed dynamically by the server, so offline couch play would need to replicate that generation logic locally across multiple game states.

Considering the effort required just to smoothly integrate modern Battlenet features with the aging engine, rearchitecting networking components for local co-op could require months of specialized engineering work. With the team staying laser-focused on their original vision for a faithful remaster, those resources were better directed at polishing visual quality.

Contrasting the Local Co-op in Diablo 3 and Diablo 4

Unlike Diablo 2, both Diablo 3 and the upcoming Diablo 4 include local split-screen functionality out-of-the-box, especially on consoles. This demonstrates how design priorities and technical landscapes for games have changed since 2000:

Diablo 3 arrived during the peak era of couch co-op focus. As online connectivity improved and gaming engines evolved, developers gained more capability to sync multiple game instances across shared displays. And with the majority of processing handled locally via modern hardware, constraints around session syncing dissipated over LANs.

Diablo 4 is likewise prioritizing local co-op more highly as a flagship next-generation experience. While PC misses out again, fans deem the ability to plunder dungeons alongside friends in-person invaluable for capturing true cooperative spirit.

However, pulling this off requires building the engine to support multi-instance environments from day one. Retrofitting legacy titles comes saddled with extensive risks around destabilizing finely tuned mechanics. So for Resurrected, Blizzard played things safer.

Analysis from an Expert Gamer Perspective

As an expert gamer and content creator focused heavily on ARPG titles, I‘ve logged thousands of hours across the Diablo series both solo and cooperatively. Based on my specialized domain experience, I believe Blizzard made the right call not to risk tampering with Diablo 2‘s infrastructure to shoehorn in local couch functionality.

At its core, Diablo 2 was groundbreaking precisely because of its online-focused approach to randomized progression, not despite it. And the vast majority who still cherish it as an all-time classic ultimately do so based on that pure gameplay excellence rather than from any nostalgia around pass-the-controller party play.

From a pragmatic standpoint, the costs involved likely also outweighed realistic usage rates among faithful fans. And attempts to emulate LAN behavior offline carries worst case scenarios of introducing showstopping bugs. So avoiding disruption to cherished legacy builds feels aligned given D2R‘s target demographic of Diablo purists.

That said, Blizzard could certainly stand to learn from shortcomings around launch server stability. But vision-wise, I support staying loyal to authentic designs, then pursuing couch play separately in fully modern successors like Diablo 4 built out natively.

Viable Alternatives for Local Co-Op Seekers

If the lack of a local multiplayer option is ultimately a dealbreaker for you with Diablo 2 Resurrected, several strong alternatives exist offering quality hack & slash action with offline couch gameplay:

• Torchlight II – Up to 4 players via LAN. Fun steam punk aesthetics with light-hearted tone.
• Gauntlet – Classic top-down arcade gameplay supporting full couch or online co-op.
• Children of Morta – Charming pixel graphics blending story and procedural generation. 2 player local and online modes.
• Minecraft Dungeons – Accessible combat from the Minecraft universe in isometric 3D, including 2-player split screen.

For those craving modern next-gen experiences, keep eyes peeled for trailers around the upcoming Diablo 4 which promises 2-4 player local multiplayer on consoles. But patient purists can enjoy Resurrected while awaiting its highly-anticipated successor.

The Bottom Line

So for those wondering "Can you play Diablo 2 local co-op?", the definitive answer remains no just as with the original 2000 release. While Blizzard added more robust online BattleNet integration to Resurrected, under-the-hood engineering work required to introduce couch functionality proved prohibitive.

Ultimately the decision stemmed from keeping true to pure preservation rather than risking disruption. Diablo 2 forever remains a genre-defining classic focused squarely around online progression systems. So while you can‘t currently gather three friends in-person for loot hunting adventures, I consider the authentic remaster we received a fair compromise allowing properly experiencing this hallmark ARPG‘s brilliant core design thoroughly modernized.