Fans have been waiting a long time for Diablo 4, and Activision Blizzard finally revealed the ambitious sequel at Blizzcon 2019. The showing at Blizzcon revealed some tantalizing details - new classes, a massive world to explore, and player vs player combat.
Diablo 3 remained a contentious game for many fans, even with the improvements it made over time. With Diablo 4 Blizzard seems to be dedicated to not making those mistakes again. Blizzard has held details close to the chest, as they do most of the time.
While details may be scant, the big question is when Diablo 4 will release. Blizzard has been tight-lipped about that specifically, but with the details on-hand there are a few indications about when Diablo 4 might make its way out.
The Status of Diablo 4
At Blizzcon 2018 Blizzard unveiled Diablo Immortal, a mobile titled co-developed with NetEase. The reveal was lackluster, to say the least, and left many fans disappointed since there was no word of Diablo 4. Blizzcon 2019 changed that, of course, but it's fairly clear that the new game is still early in development.
Diablo 4 looks significantly larger than any previous game, with a massive MMO-like shared world that players explore. The game requires players to always be online, but the world will feature multiple dungeon areas and player vs player areas. This scope applies to every aspect of the game, with Blizzard even saying there will be over 100 towns in the game. Diablo 4 is easily one of the most ambitious games Blizzard has made, and with that comes time and manpower.
In February 2020 Blizzard started massively staffing up specifically for Diablo 4, even hiring Rod Ferguson, longtime lead on Gears of War, to oversee the Diablo franchise. This indicates that Diablo 4 is entering the bulk of development, which is an indication of how far off its release could be.
When Will Diablo 4 Release?
During Diablo 4's reveal Blizzard was quick to clarify that the game wouldn't be coming out soon, with Game Director Luis Barriga saying it won't be "coming out soon - not even Blizzard soon." To put that in context, Diablo 3 was announced in 2008 but didn't fully release until 2012. It's unlikely that Diablo 4 will take a whopping four years, but at least half of that time between announcement and release would make sense.
This is especially true considering Blizzard also revealed Overwatch 2 as Blizzcon 2019. Overwatch 2 is much more of an incremental update, and with the success of the first game and Overwatch League, Blizzard would likely eye releasing it before Diablo 4. With that, Overwatch 2 will likely be a late 2020 or early 2021 title with Diablo 4 coming sometime after in late 2021 or 2022. This is especially true considering Diablo Immortal hasn't released yet, and Blizzard will want to focus on that at launch, rather than build expectation for Diablo 4.
There's also the potential that Blizzard could release an Early Access version or some kind of demo well before release. Either way, it seems unlikely that Diablo 4 will release in 2020.
Diablo 4 is currently planned for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, but it could likely end up being a cross-gen title after the release of PS5 and Xbox Series X.