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Activision Blizzard has announced that Diablo IV will launch next summer.
The publisher shared the news during The Game Awards livestream on Dec. 8, showing off a brand-new trailer featuring a massive battle between demons and angels with humans caught in the middle. Diablo IV will launch on June 6, 2023, with pre-orders available now and Early Access beginning soon.
Fans have eagerly awaited a release date for Diablo IV since Blizzard announced the game during their annual BlizzCon expo in 2019. Reports surfaced in Nov. 2022 that the company was gearing up for a Diablo IV launch in April 2023, though Blizzard did not comment on the rumors. Blizzard is expected to run a public beta in Feb. 2023 to test server capacity and give fans their first hands-on with the new Diablo experience before launching fully later in the year. In recent days, another report indicated Diablo 4 would launch in June 2023.
Earlier in 2022, over 40 minutes of Diablo IV gameplay leaked online, revealing several of the game's integral mechanics, such as vendors, skill trees and the character creator. It also showed one of the game's 100-plus dungeons, albeit with various missing textures and no collision detection, highlighting its unfinished state. The footage came from an internal alpha test build and began circulating online around the same time as an egregious Grand Theft Auto VI leak which stunned many gamers on social media.
Blizzard has held numerous Diablo IV alpha and beta tests in recent months, including one which allowed players to try out the title's end-game content to prevent the game's lengthy narrative from being spoiled. The company also ran a unique promotion that promised fans access to an exclusive beta if they got a Diablo IV-themed tattoo to celebrate the game's upcoming debut. Feedback on the pre-launch tests has reportedly been warm, with journalists hearing of a "positive buzz" surrounding Diablo IV from those who have tried out the game. A spate of preview articles released by video game publications have also complimented the game for its scope, atmosphere and loot system.
Diablo IV is sure to be better received than its mobile game predecessor Diablo Immortal, which Blizzard released in June 2022 to an onslaught of criticism. Fans accused the company of corporate greed after a player deduced it would take between $60,000-$100,000 to completely max out a character's skills and level up all their gear. Despite the backlash, Diablo Immortal was a roaring success for Blizzard and reportedly netted the company over $300m in revenue in the first three months of its release.
Diablo IV launches on June 6, 2023.
Source: YouTube