Diablo IV, the highly-anticipated latest entry in the Diablo series of action role-playing games, saw its official launch on June 5, 2023. Early access on both console and PC began four days earlier, on June 1, 2023. Barely twenty-four hours after the game’s launch, a spokesperson for publisher Blizzard Entertainment was able to announce that Diablo IV had officially become Blizzard’s fastest-selling game.
Rod Fergusson, general manager of the Diablo team, delivered the news in an official statement. He stated that Diablo IV’s pre-launch sales surpassed that of any previous Blizzard title, and that the game has continued to experience strong sales numbers following its official release. As of June 6, 2023, players on PlayStation and Xbox consoles as well as PC have played a combined 93 million hours of Diablo IV. Fergusson put this statistic into perspective – if a person played Diablo IV every day for 24 hours starting at the beginning of time, it would take 10,000 years to reach this total. That’s a lot of Diablo!
The reviews are in, all hail #DiabloIV
Purchase the Ultimate Edition to see for yourself.https://t.co/73mjYSfJBO pic.twitter.com/S4TyJsO7My
— Diablo (@Diablo) June 2, 2023
So far, the game has received praise for its dark tone, expansive overworld, and and the creepy yet compelling presence of antagonist Lilith. (In his statement, Fergusson jokingly – or perhaps not-so-jokingly – credited Lilith for the game’s success, saying “Hail Lilith, Blessed Mother.”) The game is set 50 years after the events of the previous Diablo title and features over 120 dungeons, five playable classes, massive World Bosses, and more. The team plans on continuing to add more content to the game in the form of regularly occurring Seasons as well as Expansions featuring currently not yet announced content. Premium skins are also available for purchase, although the cosmetics’ high price – such as the $21 USD “Bone Guy Armor” – has drawn some ire from fans.
Diablo IV is currently available for purchase for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Purchasers can choose between the $69.99 Standard Edition, $89.99 Deluxe Edition, and $99.99 Ultimate Edition. The Deluxe Edition contains a Season 1 Battle Pass alongside an exclusive mount, while the Ultimate Edition features a premium version of the Battle Pass plus an emote. A Collector’s Box filled with physical loot is also purchasable via the Blizzard Gear Store for $96.66.
Diablo IV is really well done. It takes the best parts of I, II and III and combines them together for a really fun experience. The graphics are AMAZING!! The interface design is fantastic! The music and voice acting is superb!!! The overall plot and theme are well done. They have optional cosmetics ala Path of Exile. However, I must say that this version is for online play only, no offline option.I think they did it that way because they encourage cooperation on certain bosses. Of course, it can be a bit buggy at first, but things will fall into place soon enough. I never pre-order a game and I’m really happy with the purchase I made this time!!