I knew going into BlizzCon 2026 that we’d get some Diablo news, but I expected a Diablo 4 expansion introducing a new Baal storyline, not Diablo 5. It’s a long way away, scheduled for a spring 2029 release, but that didn’t stop Blizzard revealing enough information for us to build a picture of what the new action role-playing game will be like. And if there’s one thing I took from the information, it’s that Diablo 5 is much more than simply a continuation of Diablo 4.
The first sign was in Blizzard’s confirmation that the game takes place a century after the events of Diablo 4, in a version of Sanctuary that has fully succumbed to evil. Diablo, the returning prime evil and lord of terror, has already conquered the world. Blizzard said it wanted to establish Diablo as a threat from the very beginning of the game, rather than being simply a boss you fight at the end.
In this apocalyptic Sanctuary, towns no longer exist. In fact, you can expect a more compact world (via IGN), unlike the sprawling open Eastern continent of Diablo 4. You are to constantly be on the move, travelling across the Western continent this time, in a caravan which expands in number the deeper into the game you get, and the more allies you encounter.
That was actually the idea of narrative director Jennifer Hepler (according to GamesRadar), the BioWare veteran whose name should be familiar to Dragon Age fans – she was a writer on Dragon Ages 1 through 3 (Inquisition). Hepler’s idea was to bring elements from more story-based role-playing games into Diablo, with the caravan serving as essentially a roving campsite from Baldur’s Gate or Dragon Age.
Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
Companions are to be your vendors in Diablo 5, and each has their own story about surviving in a ruined Sanctuary – stories that play into the side quests they give. These characters include a Sister of the Sightless Eye – a member of a secretive order in the Western continent – but the most intriguing is, wait for it, a treasure goblin, the loot piñata of Diablo’s world. Now, a treasure goblin has feelings, and Blizzard has said the character is “searching for meaning in a world where greed has lost its purpose”.
Intriguingly, Diablo – the creature – reshapes the ruined overworld throughout the game. This manifests in a procedurally-generated landscape where topology, points of interest and roaming monsters change each time you visit it – as do the rewards. This is true for dungeons, too, which longtime fans will recognise as a core feature of Diablo 3, which didn’t return in Diablo 4.
In another nod to Diablo 3, some of that game’s classes are returning in Diablo 5, including the dual crossbow-wielding Demon Hunter and the martial artist, the Monk. Completely new in Diablo 5 is the Plague Knight, a heavily-armoured class who spreads disease across the battlefield and then consumes it for power, and Blizzard is aiming to have more Diablo 5 classes at launch than in any other game in the series.
Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
The protagonist is described as the “Heir to Westmarch” and possesses a unique connection to Diablo, making them “both a threat and uniquely vulnerable to [Diablo]’s powerful influence”, Blizzard said – how very Diablo. Westmarch itself has changed and expanded over the Western continent, a spread the game intends to explain as part of its story.
Itemisation in Diablo 5 is inspired by Diablo 2, apparently, which was another surprise given that the series’ more complex systems were sanded down after Diablo 2, for subsequent entries. But Diablo 2’s Runes and Runewords are confirmed as returning, and gear sets are also coming back.
Blizzard is going beyond that and “experimenting” with bringing back stat requirements for gear, too, meaning not everything you find is immediately equipable. Belts and item tiers return, and large items once again take more space in your inventory, meaning you’ll have to manage your bags.These things combined could make for a more involved and deeper experience, one more akin to Path of Exile, and certainly more complex than Diablo 4.
The game’s approach to multiplayer is less clear. Diablo 5 is playable solo and in co-op, we know, but beyond that, Blizzard is being coy. It won’t yet say whether it’s a shared world like Diablo 4 or if it’s a fundamentally online experience. An evolution of Diablo 4’s approach makes sense, but with town hubs seemingly replaced by an ever-present travelling caravan, where would players gather? Perhaps we’re looking at something with fewer MMO-lite elements.
Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
Combat changes remain the most mysterious, however, Blizzard only touched on them briefly in an interview with GameSpot, saying the team has “some great, interesting ideas about how to make combat feel even more visceral, even more action-forward”, whatever that means. From the sound of it, combat in Diablo 5 is a straightforward continuation of Diablo 4, which was itself built on Diablo 3.
Diablo 5 is currently in full production and Blizzard is going to share more details about it in the coming years, and with the company apparently open to feedback, perhaps there’s an opportunity to alter or help shape some of the features before the spring 2029 release.
And it’s a release that’s surprisingly close to Diablo 4’s; there will be six years between Diablos 4 and 5 when the fifth game is released, whereas there was more than a decade between Diablos 2 and 3, and 3 and 4. This has led to concern that Blizzard won’t make any more Diablo 4 expansions, instead favouring Diablo 5 development, and cautious comments already signal that to be its intent.
Nevertheless, it’s an exciting time for Diablo again, especially in light of a Netflix animated Diablo series being announced as well, and a Switch 2 version of Diablo 4. All that’s left is to ask whether there’s anything you’re hoping to see in Diablo 5?