Blizzard popped up during The Game Awards to share a new cinematic trailer for Diablo IV and confirm that the game will release on 6th June 2023 for PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5.
While a full, paid game, Blizzard are adopting a seasonal approach to updating the game and keeping things fresh. Each season will come with new gameplay features, a new questline and mysteries, and more of the world of Sanctuary. There will also be live events that crop up, and a Season Journey that is free for all players. This, however, feeds into a battle pass system that has both free rewards and a paid track of rewards to complete.
This will also feed into the end-game of Diablo IV. There will be a variety of different activities to take on including region-wide Helltides that can impact your general exploring of Sanctuary, Nightmare Dungeons, Whispers of the Dead that can reward you with loot when traded in, and PvP areas known as Fields of Hatred.
Don’t worry if you can’t wait until June, because Blizzard has promised that public beta tests will be held in early 2023. The closed beta tests occurring in the tail end of this year have focussed on end-game activities, while pre-orders will gain early access to the public tests in 2023.
While a wave of previews for Diablo IV dropped this week, there’s also been reporting surrounding the game’s development. The Washington Post reports Diablo IV was originally planned to release in April 2023, but that they “felt it needed more time and was able to get the June date approved.” That’s good, but not when combined with the Post also reporting that the development team is being pushed to work long hours and “crunch” to get the game finished. It’s not mandatory, but there’s definitely some pressure to engage in a maligned game development practice – there’s stock bonuses that are being used as an incentive.
Of course, everything that Blizzard does right now is also under the microscope for the wider implications of the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft. Diablo IV will still be a cross-platform release, but the FTC has now sued to block the acquisition for the wider, longer term implications that it will have for competition. Microsoft has homed in on needing to keep Call of Duty cross-platform, but the FTC seems to note that there’s a lot of other games and franchises owned by Activision Blizzard King that could end up exclusive and harm competition.
Want to learn more about the genre-defining series, here’s a look at the history of Diablo. Meanwhile, why not read our review of last year’s Diablo II: Resurrected?
