Blizzard has revealed they will be releasing Diablo IV on Steam, on an interesting date.
Diablo IV originally released on June 5 2023, on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows, but only on the Battlenet client. At the time, there were clearly no plans to release the game on Steam.
However, in the coming months, it has become clearer and clearer that Microsoft will be able to close their deal to acquire the game’s parent company, Activision Blizzard King. We had already seen several Call of Duty games relisted on the Xbox store, with their online lobbies still very much working. Blizzard has also published Overwatch 2 to Steam.
Diablo IV will come to Steam on October 17, 2023, as per their newly revealed Steam page. That date is curious because, as noted by Tom Warren, it will also be the deadline of Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision. We already know that the last real impediment to this deal closing is the CMA. The CMA has released a provisional decision indicating they are leaning towards approving the deal, with their deadline for a final decision coming up this month.
So, depending on how events play out, Microsoft could finish acquiring Activision before or on the date Diablo IV comes to Steam.
Truthfully, however, this all appears to be a huge coincidence. We had already pointed out that Blizzard published Overwatch 2 up on Steam, when the franchise had previously been exclusive to Battlenet.
There was no real impediment to Blizzard publishing Diablo IV on Steam. In fact, they may have already planned to do it whatever the outcome of the planned merger with Microsoft would be.
Microsoft would choose to publish Diablo IV on Steam because it aligns with their values, and strategies. On the values end, Phil Spencer has pushed the philosophy that Microsoft wants players to buy their games on their terms, even if that means its outside Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Strategically, Phil wants their games available outside of Microsoft, because they just get a bigger slice of the pie that way. Microsoft continues to sell Xbox, but under Phil, they no longer chase the bright records of top selling console, as much as they put real value towards getting as much profit as they can from each of their products and services.
But Microsoft does not own Activision Blizzard yet. This decision is Blizzard’s and we should understand why they would choose so as well. And that is contingent on Blizzard’s immediate need to get more people playing Diablo IV right now.
It isn’t just about selling more units of the game. As a live service game, Blizzard has fumbled on keeping players engaged and interested in Diablo IV. This pending Steam launch is an opportunity for Blizzard to sell the game and its live service features to more players. This way, they can attempt to gain interest back with a new audience.
We don’t know if this plan will work but we certainly can’t fault Blizzard for trying. At the very least, they got to doing it ahead of the merger.
