Confirmed: June 6, 2023
After years of speculation, Diablo 4 has an official release date [1]: June 6, 2023.
"On June 6, 2023, you can assume the mantle of the Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, or Sorcerer while traversing an expansive Sanctuary. You'll hone your abilities and discover powerful gear to fight the unremitting darkness brought on by Lilith's return."Blizzard Entertainment ·
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Blizzard made the announcement at the 2022 Game Awards, also launching pre-orders for the Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate versions of the game, and releasing a new trailer featuring Lilith and her former lover, Inarius:
Just a month earlier, industry rumors swirled that the game would be released in April, but Blizzard must have made the call to give the game another two months of polish. Barring a catastrophe, Blizzard won't renege on the 6/6/2023 release date.
April 2023 release rumor
Two sources, WindowsCentral.com & XboxEra Podcast, independently corroborated the same leaked information that April 2023 is Diablo 4's release month [2]. The release date news, along with the ability to preorder versions of the game, including the Collector's Edition, will be announced at the Game Awards on December 8, 2022. Note that this is a rumor and even if it is true at the moment, a lot can still change before release.
"According to XboxEra and our own sources, Blizzard is planning a large marketing blitz for Diablo 4, beginning at The Game Awards 2022 where an April launch should be revealed. Also, preorders should open during the show, including multiple digital editions and a physical collector's edition with many goodies for hardcore fans. If our info is correct, one of the preorder perks will be early access to an open beta in February 2023."
2023 release date confirmed
It's official: Diablo 4 will be released in 2023 [3], likely around mid-2023. At the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12, 2022, Blizzard confirmed that the game will be coming next year to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
We can hopefully narrow our release date prediction to mid-2023, because Microsoft's Xbox division stated at the event that all games were playable over the next 12 months [4].
"Everything you see today is playable over the next tweleve months."
While "playable" isn't the same as "released,"" there's encouraging signs that a Diablo 4 beta could begin later this year, with the beta's sign-up now live on the official Diablo 4 site. Blizzard has a pattern of doing betas roughly six months before a game's release.
TOPDiablo 4 in Battle.net Launcher
On May 29, 2022, Blizzard President, Mike Ybarra, was streaming World of Warcraft on Twitch. Upon opening up Battle.net, his game launcher bar at the top showed Diablo 4's icon [5]:
We know that Blizzard employees are testing a "milestone" version of Diablo 4 at home, so perhaps this is that version. Seeing that the game is integrated into Battle.net is a good sign that it's far along.
TOPBlizzard's Game Pipeline
The strongest hint is from Blizzard's Q3 earnings slide deck [6], which mentioned Diablo 4 in its "Update on Our Pipeline" section:
"While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged."
One could infer from this phrasing that Diablo 4 was on track to see the light of day in 2022, but due to Activision Blizzard's recent workplace harrassment lawsuits (and resulting firings and attrition), the game will be pushed back a year. Luis Barriga, Diablo 4's former game director, was one of the employees confirmed to be fired. Although the game seems to be somewhat far along, losing such a senior decision maker was likely one of the causes for the delay.
TOPCollector's Edition mount
In what some players thought was an April Fools joke (it wasn't), a surprising item was datamined from the patch notes for World of Warcraft's Public Test Realm server on April 1, 2022 [7]: a new achievement for having a mount given in the Diablo 4 Collector's Edition :
"Achievement: Owner of Diablo IV Collector's Edition Amalgam of Rage mount. Mount: Reins of Amalgam of Rage"
This is the first confirmation of a Diablo 4 Collector's Edition, although one was always assumed, and an indication that the game is far along in development and may be ready for beta within the year.
TOP"Significant Milestone" Version
The beginning of Blizzard's Diablo 4 2021 Q4 update [8] states:
"We've made big strides, with every build of the game containing a host of expanded content, new art, balance changes, and other iterations. In fact, the team is currently playtesting an internal release of the game that represents a significant milestone."
It's unknown what this internal release is, but it sounds like most of the game is intact and lots of employees are testing it.
TOPDiablo books preceeding Launches
A new book from Blizzard, titled "Diablo: Tales from the Horadric Library," is set to release on Oct. 18, 2022. Popular Diablo YouTuber, Rhykker, analyzed past Diablo book releases and found that the last two preceeded a Diablo game launch by 154 days [9]:
"This is just a theory that this book is the herald of Diablo 4. Let's look at some dates. The Book of Cain was published on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011. Diablo 3 released Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 154 days later. The Book of Tyreal was published Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. Reaper of Souls launched Monday, Mar. 25, 2014, precisely 154 days later as well. So, if this pattern of two repeats, then 154 days from Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 is Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023. And I posit that Blizzard is targeting this as the release date of Diablo 4, but... that's just speculation."
File on PlayStation Network
On May 17, 2021, eagled-eyed gamers noticed a 43.97GB game file titled "WELOOOOVEDOGS" [10] added to the PlayStation Network by Activision Blizzard. The game was compatible with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and included a "pic1.png" image file [11], which was the Diablo IV logo. Other contents of the file were locked down, but gamers speculated that this was a sign that (internal) at-home testing of the PlayStation version of the game had begun.
TOP
Xiphoid has been playing Diablo since the original's release in 1997. He made one of the largest Age of Empires sites in the late-'90s and early-'00s. Now, he runs MythicDrop.com, a premier Diablo 4 fansite.
Sources
| Article | Source | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Blizzard announces official June 2023 launch date | Blizzard | |
| 2. | April 2023 rumored to be release date | WindowsCentral | |
| 3. | Diablo IV 2023 release date announcement | Blizzard | |
| 4. | Xbox & Bethesda games' release dates | Microsoft | |
| 5. | Blizzard Exec shows Diablo 4 icon in Battle.net | Mike Ybarra | |
| 6. | Activision Blizzard's 2021 Q3 Earnings Slides | Blizzard | |
| 7. | World of Warcraft Public Test Realm v9.2.5 Notes | Blizzard | |
| 8. | Diablo IV Quarterly Update 2021 Q4 | Blizzard | |
| 9. | Rhykker's Speculation on Diablo 4's Release Date | Rhykker | |
| 10. | Diablo IV File Uploaded to PlayStation Network | Skelos | |
| 11. | Diablo IV Logo in WELOOOOVEDOGS File | justinxrubin |
Changelog
| Ver | Change | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Beta | Added section on official June 2023 release date | |
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Beta | Added section on April 2023 release rumor | |
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Alpha | Added release date confirmation by Blizzard | |
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Alpha | Added section on Battle.net Diablo 4 icon | |
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Alpha | Added section on Collector's Edition mount | |
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Alpha | Published original |
