After a live show by Halsey, Blizzard revealed the release date for Diablo IV alongside a brand new story cinematic showing Tyrael and his allies against the demon forces of Lilith, the main antagonist of the game.
Diablo IV takes place long after the events of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Countless lives were lost during the battle between the High Heavens and Burning Hells, leaving the mortal realm of Sanctuary in shambles. Years after these events, as life is slowly starting to rebuild, cultists manage to summon Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto, and she is ready to wreak havoc on the realm of Sanctuary.
The latest cinematic trailer shows Tyrael’s allies, trying to push back the hordes of demons unleashed by Lilith upon Sanctuary. Tyrael floats above his army, casting light on the monsters lurking in the shadows. The world of Sanctuary is destroyed, with lava flowing everywhere and demons crawling around. The cinematic ends with Tyrael throwing his spear on Lilith, where the screen turns black and announce the release date of Diablo IV, set to June 6, 2023. Pre-orders are already available and will grant open beta early access.
Diablo IV brings various changes to Blizzard’s iconic action RPG series. For the first time in the franchise, Diablo IV will feature an open world with PvP elements. The game has a day-night cycle and dynamic weather effects to better immerse players in the five unique regions of Diablo IV: Kehjistan, Scosglen, the Dry Steppes, the Fractured Peaks, and Hawezar. Each of these areas will be up to 20 times larger than the largest areas of Diablo III, with world bosses spread throughout the region.
To prevent players from getting lost in this new open world, Diablo IV will feature a branching narrative to guide them to specific key locations. However, the heroes can decide to skip the story altogether to just dive into the world with no regard to the quests, unlike in previous installments in the series where each Act came with its own dedicated area. Players will be able to ride various mounts to move around faster, and destroy their opponents with one of the five available classes: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, or Sorcerer.
The endgame of Diablo IV should provide “thousands” of gameplay hours, with the Paragon Board replacing the Paragon system from the previous games. The Tree of Whispers, the giant tree located in Sanctuary, will be a key element from the endgame of Diablo IV. It will provide players with bounties and world objectives that reward them with Legendary gear, crafting material, and experience. New features introduced by Diablo IV also include camps and strongholds, areas filled with monsters to defeat that can turn into friendly towns occupied by NPCs once they are purged.
Diablo IV will release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, on June 6, 2023.
