On Sunday, Xbox and Bethesda hosted Game Showcase 2022 with trailers and news on upcoming Xbox titles. Among the updates, Activision Blizzard had a release window for Diablo IV to reveal. The much-loved hack-and-slash series will continue when the game launches sometime in 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. In addition to a time frame, Blizzard provided a lot of new information about Diablo IV. Headlining the update was the Necromancer reveal. The dark character joins already announced Barbarian, Rogue, Sorceress, and Druid. The Necromancer class has been around since Diablo II but was a late addition to the cast of characters in Diablo III. Blizzard confirmed that the bone dealer would be D4’s fifth playable class, with some new tricks up its sleeve, including a rolling wave of blood, which you can see in action in the masthead. it will also have a new “Book of the Dead” ability, which allows players to customize their skeletons. The studio also revealed several gameplay characteristics, showing that Diablo IV is an entirely different game from its predecessors (above). The most significant change is that the game plays out in a completely open world with a non-linear narrative. “One of the really cool things about having an open world is your journey that you take throughout Diablo IV is your own,” the development team said. “Thre’s no linear path that you have to follow.” “We can’t wait to open the gates of Hell next year.” — Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment Character creation has evolved as well. Customization options in Diablo and Diablo II amounted to picking a class. Diablo III added gender choice to the mix. Diablo IV brings “robust character customization” to the game. Players can create their own look and style to set themselves apart from others. Blizzard did not mention whether the game would have microtransactions during the Showcase, but Global Community Manager Adam Fletcher confirmed that it would in a tweet.
Over 150 dungeons Strongholds to reclaim Local multiplayer events A Player vs Player (PvP) region of the map A shared world Fully-enabled crossplay Couch co-op Remodeled and expanded eng-game paragon boards
“D4 is coming out as a full price game built strictly for PC/console audiences,” Fletcher said. “The game is huge & there will be tons of content after launch for all players. Paid content is built around optional cosmetic items & eventually full expansions.” It’s good to hear that microtransactions would be limited to cosmetic items considering Diablo Immortal is shamelessly pay-to-win on a very extreme level.
