After quite a few rumors and even a last-minute leak of the artbook, Diablo IV has been officially announced at BlizzCon 2019. The game is said to embrace the darker roots of the franchise compared to Diablo III. It's being developed for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; more importantly, given that an 'early look demo' is playable on the show floor, the release date may not be that far off.
In a press release sent out by Blizzard, President J. Allen Brack said:
Sanctuary has been a home to Diablo players for more than 20 years, and it’s with our own deep passion for the series and a deep appreciation of the community that we announce Diablo IV today. We’re excited to be returning to the dark, quintessential Diablo gameplay that players love while expanding the world and story in new ways, and we can’t wait for more people to be able to experience it.
The game world will be seamless and shared with other players, and there will be even PvP zones where to fight other adventurers.
Players will find a lifetime’s worth of adventure scattered across a land rooted in unique ecologies and inhabited by dangerous new foes. They’ll delve into randomized dungeons packed with unpredictable adversaries and unimaginable treasures. While continuing to fully support solo and coordinated party play, Diablo IV will also provide opportunities for groups of players to encounter each other in the same shared world—whether to tackle bigger challenges . . . or possibly even slaughter one another in player-vs.-player combat.
In Diablo IV, players will attempt to bring hope back to the world by vanquishing evil in all its vile incarnations—from cannibalistic demon-worshipping cultists to the all-new drowned undead that emerge from the coastlines to drag their victims to a watery grave. For the first time in the series, Sanctuary will be a contiguous, seamless landmass comprising diverse regions ranging from the burning desert of Kejhistan, to the verdant werewolf-infested forests of Scosglen, to the harsh and rugged wilderness of the Dry Steppes.
So far, the following three classes were unveiled for Diablo IV.
BARBARIAN
The Barbarian has unparalleled strength and expertly wields an entire arsenal in battle, with a weapon for every occasion. He bellows intimidating war cries and unleashes ground-shaking slams to send approaching hordes reeling.SORCERESS
The Sorceress shapes the elements into whatever form is necessary to ensure victory, from hurling bolts of lightning, impaling her foes upon jagged spikes of ice, and raining flaming meteors down from the sky.DRUID
The Druid is a savage shapeshifter, fluidly transforming between the forms of a towering bear or a vicious werewolf to fight alongside the creatures of the wild. He also commands the power of earth, wind, and storm, unleashing nature’s wrath to devastating effect.
Last but not least, a gameplay trailer showcased the massive technological improvements made by Blizzard in Diablo IV compared to the previous installment.
We expect lots more to come in the next couple of days from BlizzCon. Until then, stay tuned.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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