With their fast-paced gameplay and captivating story and characters, Diablo 2 and 3 have been two of the most phenomenal games of all time. So, many are curious about the upcoming fourth installment of this gargantuan franchise. All Diablo titles so far have been highly rated by critics. They were all financial successes. The first one debuted at number 1 on PC Data’s video game sales chart for 1997. Diablo 2 sold 4 million copies in 2000. Diablo 3, on the other hand, became the fastest-selling computer game of all time. To this day, no game has beaten this record. No wonder many can’t wait for Diablo 4’s release. Recently, there have been news leaks about the upcoming game’s features and gameplay. And, fans continue to come up with theories and speculations. There’s even been a surge of excitement since the game company posted various job listings for an unannounced project, including openings for key roles (e.g. executive producer). As of Q3 2019 though, Blizzard has only released trailers for Diablo Immortal and Diablo 3: Rise of the Necromancer. If you’re looking for news regarding Diablo’s fourth installment, check out the leaks section below. If you want to know more about its release date and other things, just continue reading.

Release Date, Trailer, News, and Rumors In September 2018, Rengarious, a Reddit user with ties to a Blizzard staff, leaked confidential information on Reddit. It has also been speculated that Blizzard will provide Diablo 4 previews at BlizzCon 2020. Celebrate, for the tidbits below shouldn’t be available for the public at this time. Yet, this Reddit user provided valuable information that fans of the franchise will surely love.

Nonetheless, to avoid disappointment, don’t assume that all these will come to be true—especially since the game is still under development. Gameplay All Diablo games features hack-and-slash, point-and-click mechanics. Diablo 4 will be played in a third-person isometric view. So you can expect that it’s also going to be a point-and-click game. This may seem very old school. Nevertheless, it’s a Diablo game. The said feature is one of the things that made this franchise successful. Point and click means that you use a mouse to move your character around and use abilities. This is similar to DoTA 2’s gameplay. And despite being based on old-school gameplay mechanics and input, IGN ranked DOTA 2 among the top titles of 2019. By the way, DOTA 2 is based on a MOD created for Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne. Warcraft 3 is also played via point and click. And, it’s another phenomenal game created by Blizzard. Moving on, the maps of the previous Diablo games rely on random generation. Diablo 4, on the other hand, is said to have a fixed yet massive map. This, combined with its hack-and-slash gameplay, will definitely attract RPG lovers. Questing Most quests will be on the mortal realm. As you progress, you will have to travel to the High Heavens and Burning Hells. The main quests requires you to go to these zones. There will be side quests that are exclusive in these zones only.

This means some side quests can only be completed on those realms. No one has yet revealed the number of quests that can be accepted simultaneously.

Regardless of that, the usual approach anyway is to claim side quests in zones when the main quests takes you there. Open World The upcoming game will be of the open world sort, similar to Fallout or WoW in scale. Blizzard is still unsure of what to call the game Although the next Diablo video game is indeed a sequel, Blizzard hasn’t formalised its name yet. They can’t decide whether the official name should be Diablo: World of Sanctuary or Diablo 4. Multiplayer Option This is contrary to what 4chan leaked back in 2017. It was suggested on 4chan that Diablo 4 will be a single player game like Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. But, like the previous installments, Diablo 4 will enable multiplayer—complete with branching skill tress and multiple classes. Isometric View Most RPGs today are played in third- or first-person perspective. As mentioned, the next Diablo will be an isometric MMORPG. Basically, it will be like Lost Ark or Lineage Eternal. No Acts The story of Diablo games are divided by acts. This is true for the first three installments in the franchise. Each act is set in a new map, and each map has several mini bosses and one major boss. You can only progress to the next act after you defeat the latter.

Rengarious revealed that acts will not separate the upcoming game’s world. Currently, the map is already massive. Although the main quest line won’t have acts, players can be assured that it will be engaging and memorable. Player vs. Player As to be expected, PVP will make an appearance. However, the mechanics of this mode hasn’t been revealed yet.

MMORPG Blizzard aims to launch a gargantuan online video game. Having an open-world setting, Diablo 4 will definitely have an enormous map with various areas. You will be able to meet and see other players in regions and towns. So in this game, you can also play with others who are thousands of miles away from you, not just your peers. New Game Engine Blizzard uses the same 3D engine in the games they’ve released from 2011 to 2018, except for Hearthstone. Hearthstone runs on the Unity game engine. Interestingly, the studio is using a newer game engine in developing Diablo 4. Gothic Style The previous Diablo games were set in a dark fantasy world.

Diablo 1 introduced the world of Sanctuary to players. And, only a decade or two separates the timeline of each game. For example, Diablo 3 is set 20 years after the conclusion of Lord of Destruction. Diablo, the main antagonist in the series, keeps getting resurrected. Also, Deckard Cain is alive at the end of each game.

It still isn’t confirmed whether the title’s fourth installment will be set only a few years after its predecessor. But, Diablo will definitely be there. In Act IV of Diablo 3, the protagonist stopped the ultimate evil from reaching the Crystal Arch. Diablo is defeated, and his body is destroyed. However, the last cinematic shows that the Black Soulstone is still intact. This implies that Diablo can be reincarnated again. The story in the games revolve around Diablo and the protagonist. In Diablo 2, the one who used the soulstone was the corrupted hero of the first Diablo game. Even though the games have the same antagonist, they offer distinct plot twists. The series’ story, its characters, and its dark fantasy elements are the very things that entice and captivate players. An Expanded Sanctuary Sanctuary is the setting of the Diablo series. It’s also known as the mortal realm. Flayer Jungle, Alcarnus, and the Twin Seas are all located on Sanctuary. In Diablo 3, Blizzard introduced new areas like the Weeping Hollows, Nephalem Rift, and Whimsydale.

Each sequel expands the world of Sanctuary, but Diablo 4 will be bigger than all its predecessors. Remember that it’s an open-world title, so you can compare its size and scale to Bethesda’s Skyrim. Other than that, the Burning Hells and the High Heavens will also feature new regions. These areas are not available in both the second and third Diablo games. Graphics and Visuals Diablo 4 is said to have much darker visuals than its predecessor. Blizzard will not launch an ultra-realistic game—they’ve never been interested in that particular visual style. Still, the graphics of their new title should be comparable to, if not much better than, that of Dark Souls 3. Classic Classes The Barbarian, Amazon, Sorceress, Necromancer, and Paladin are all believed to be available in the base game. Yes, that means the traditional Diablo classes will be playable in Diablo 4. Fans are hoping that Blizzard will include the Demon Hunter and introduce new classes in the upcoming game. Remember that Blizzard did not add the Necromancer class in the vanilla version of Diablo 3. It was only made available in the latest expansion pack of the game, which was released in 2016. That being said, the studio may include some of the traditional classes in the DLCs for Diablo 4. Diablo 2 players loved the Necromancers class, which had not been available in the first Diablo game.

Blizzard may treat the Demon Hunter that way as well. By withholding access to specific characters, studios are able to increase revenue and maintain (or rather, prolong) the popularity of a game.

Platforms Like Elder Scrolls 6, Diablo 4 will be a next-gen video game, so it should be made available on PlayStation 5 and Scarlett Xbox. PC Availability and Support So far, no one revealed whether or not the fourth game will be on PC. However, remember that all main Diablo games are available for Microsoft Windows and Mac. So, don’t worry too much about this. Blizzard has been known for efficient optimization. They won’t neglect the demand from PC users. In addition, that means you probably won’t need to buy an ultra expensive, top-of-the-line processor to play this game. Diablo 3 was ported to PS4, but Core 2 Duo PCs can run it at 60 FPS. In 2011, Diablo 3 features the best graphics and visuals among the games released that year. Still, it can run on an aging 32-bit CPU. In essence, assuming that all these are true, Diablo 4 will be an online open world adventure, hack-and-slash RPG. It may be as big as World of Warcraft. The Latest News from Blizzard In August 2018, Blizzard provided an update for the upcoming games that are based on the Diablo series. Brandy Camel, the studio’s community manager said, “The forges at Blizzard are burning, and multiple Diablo projects are on the way.” Unfortunately, official news on the title is still very limited. In fact, no trailer has been made available so far. Despite that, here are some things you can expect: Major announcement at BlizzCon 2020 2 to 3 expansions

An adaptation of the Druid class

More classes and less loading screens than Diablo 3

Improved skill trees

New menu interface

Dungeon crawling with less repetitive gameplay

Diablo as one of the main antagonists

Blood and gore

An immersive story and a captivating dark fantasy world Diablo Immortal Many people are speculating whether or not Immortal is actually going to be the fourth installment of the series. Well, it isn’t. Diablo Immortal is only one of the several upcoming games for the franchise. Immortal will be an online ARPG hack-and-slash for mobile platforms. It will only be available for Android and iOS. Blizzard released a trailer for Immortal. But it has no release date yet. The game got a backlash from both critics and the fanbase after its official announcement. But, Blizzard noted that they would continue the game’s development. The studio should release Immortal soon.

Conclusion If you feel antsy because you want to play Diablo 4, you can at least have Immortal soon—you do have a phone, right? Just kidding. Once Blizzard launches this mobile spin-off, however, they can finally focus on the main series title.