Hot on the heels of Blizzard Entertainment finally officially announcing Diablo IV, we’ve learned the game will not be playable offline.

The game is being teased as “shared open world”, and as such, will require an internet connection to play.

“There’s a large, seamless, connected, and shared space in the world, going down into dungeons, being able to group with your friends, trading and PvP. We feel that the best way to experience that is in a world that is online,” lead designer Joe Shely said (to PC Gamer) when asked for an offline mode.

The “shared open world” basically makes Diablo IV into an MMO of sorts, where all the regions in Sanctuary are populated with towns, world events, PVP zones – a persistent world populated by other players.

Lastly, during a BlizzCon panel, game director Luis Barriga said the release is quite a ways off. “We are not coming out soon. Not even ‘Blizzard soon’,” said director Luis Barriga.