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Diablo 2: Resurrected launches on Thursday, but those who pre-purchased the game on PC can install it now through Blizzard’s Battle.net application. Diablo 2: Resurrected's arrival comes several months after the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase revealed its release date at E3 2021.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is the second remaster of Blizzard’s early-2000’s games to arrive after Warcraft III: Reforged. The project was strongly rumored prior to its official announcement this past February. Vicarious Visions, a subsidiary of Activision, designed the remaster of Diablo 2, dedicating a strict focus toward keeping the game as close to its original code as possible. The game contains user-interface overhauls, massive visual and audio improvements, and enhanced online and security systems that will support up to eight players. Although Diablo 2: Resurrected won't have ultrawide support - which was previously hinted in its alpha tests - developers are apparently looking into bringing such features down the line.
Diablo made its announcement that pre-ordered games could be downloaded on Tuesday afternoon. Fans immediately praised the arrival of the Lord of Terror and posted screenshots of their Battle.net installers, having downloaded Diablo 2: Resurrected. Although the game can be downloaded ahead of its release, the announcement confirmed that it won’t be playable until 8:00 AM PDT on September 23. Although some Twitter users commented below other Diablo development posts to say the game will be inconveniently unlocked during work and school hours, others expressed they took the day off to get a head start on their descents into hell - a journey that could be have more sinister aesthetics with upcoming Diablo 4.
Diablo 2 has undergone a few visual improvements but remains as consistent with the original game as possible, giving it wide appeal to new audiences and veterans of the franchise alike. Unlike Warcraft III: Reforged - which disappointed fans of the original Warcraft III - the new Resurrected will reportedly not replace the original Diablo 2. In the event users want to return to the classic game that Vicarious Visions has recreated, they’re free to do so. Resurrected is, however, expected to hold the franchise over until the release of Diablo 4.
The preload option is a great reminder for those who pre-purchased the game to brush up on their Diablo 2 class knowledge while they still can. Others might be more skeptical about pre-ordering game titles, instead looking to see how they're received before making any kind of decision. Either way, there are a little under two days to go until the gates of hell are opened on Battle.net.
Diablo 2 Resurrected is set to release September 23 on Switch, PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Diablo/Twitter, Rob Ferguson/Twitter