Diablo IV finally has a street date after years of development. Coming June 6th, 2023, Blizzard Entertainment revealed a new trailer as well, showing Hell and its denizens in full cinematic glory.
Set decades after the events of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, the demon Lilith and the angel Inarius are bitter enemies, waging war against each other and plunging the lands of Sanctuary into chaos. Releasing with 5 classes at launch, players will be able to jump into the fray to hold off the darkness that is sweeping across the world.
We've known that Diablo IV was planning to launch in 2023, with rumors pointing to pre-orders opening up this month, but having a concrete date to look forward to only adds to the excitement. First announced way back at BlizzCon 2019, Diablo IV has seen its fair share of development hurdles, including the departure of its game director back in 2021 amid the departures following the still ongoing legal issues stemming from a lawsuit filed by the State of California in July of 2021.
Just yesterday ahead of The Game Awards, The Washington Post's Shannon Liao reported on the work environment surrounding Diablo IV's development, alleging a culture where workers were being incentivized to "crunch" in order to hit the now announced street date.
Diablo IV departs from its predecessors with an open world for the series now, bringing a fundamental new design for the series while still aiming to stay true to its ARPG roots. According to GameSpot's recent preview of the ARPG, Diablo IV iterates on its predecessors, yet delivers so far on the promise of more player freedom in the ARPG.
Blizzard is promising a "non-linear experience," with "over 140 dungeons, side-quests, and a plethora of loot." This is in addition to what it touts as an "epic story" at the center of it all. You can check out some of the story beats in the trailer embed above.
