Diablo 4 Release Date and Preview | Everything We Know So Far

Hate has returned to Sanctuary, but will you be able to stop it? Read on to learn everything we know so far about Diablo 4, including its release date, special editions, and character classes in our preview!

Diablo 4 Release Date and Time

June 5, 7:00 PM EST

Diablo 4 is coming out on June 5, 2023 at 7 pm EST for both PC and consoles, according to Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra. For other places like Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, the game will come out on June 6.

Ybarra added that players who bought Diablo 4’s Deluxe and Ultimate versions can play the game via early access on June 1, 2023 at 7 pm EST.

Everything We Know About Diablo 4

Diablo 4 Latest Trailer

Diablo 4 Story Plot

It has been decades since the destruction of the Black Soulstone and the defeat of the Angel of Death, but the world of Sanctuary has yet to recover from the seemingly endless war between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells. Though a fragile peace has returned to this torn world, it is about to be rocked once again. One of its creators has returned to this plane of reality, seeking to establish her own power over the realm for her own mysterious ends.

Diablo 4 is the latest installment of Blizzard Entertainment’s famous franchise, featuring five hero classes from past Diablo games, an open world, and stunning visuals in one package. Its expanded skill system, the ability to ride mounts, and the option to defeat colossal world bosses with other players all promise a thrilling gameplay experience that’s further intensified with cutthroat PvP on the Fields of Hatred.

The story itself will most likely focus on the conflict between Inarius and Lilith, the original creators of the world of Sanctuary. Events in the previous games have put these two at odds with one another, and now they’re shown to be fighting each other over a yet-unknown reason. It can be assumed that Lilith is trying to uplift the Nephalem once again to overthrow both the High Heavens and Burning Hells, though it is unclear why Inarius is fighting his former beloved.

Diablo 4 Platforms, Editions, and Prices

Diablo 4 will be released in three editions: Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate. Each edition has pre-order bonuses that come with them, but these will be different depending on which one you bought.

The Standard Edition, which retails for $69.99, will give not only access to the base game, but pre-order bonuses like the Light Bearer Mount, the Amalgam of Rage Mount, the Inarius’ Wings cosmetic from Diablo 3, and the Umber Winged Darkness cosmetic armor set from Diablo Immortal. Inarius’ Murloc is also included as a pet.

Meanwhile, the Deluxe Edition, which costs $89.99, has all of the pre-order bonuses for the Standard Edition as well as the Temptation Mount, the Hellborn Carapace Mount Armor, and a Premium Seasonal Battle Pass.

But the biggest perk that comes with this edition is the early access, which allows you to play the game on June 1 at 7 pm EST instead of June 5.

As for the $99.99 Ultimate Edition, it has all the perks of the Deluxe Edition but also a Wings of the Creator emote and 20 Tier Skips for the Battle Pass. What this means is that you can immediately get 20 BP tiers worth of rewards without any effort on your part.

But if you’re not interested in rewards or emotes, we recommend buying the Deluxe Edition as it has the best balance of both value and premium content, especially the ability to play Diablo IV earlier than many other players.

Diablo 4 Open Beta Rewards

In early March, Blizzard opened the door for players who pre-ordered Diablo IV to play its open beta. Though none of the progress you make in that version of the game will be carried over to the full release, completing certain milestones will snag you a couple of titles for your character and a nice cosmetic.

You will get the title of ‘Initial Casualty’ once you reach Kyovashad, while the ‘Early Voyager’ title is obtained once you reach level 20. The biggest Open Beta reward, however, is the Wolf Pack Cosmetic, which you can currently get by reaching level 20 in Diablo 4’s upcoming Sever Slam between May 12 and May 14, 2023.

Diablo 4 Character Classes

Five character classes have been confirmed for the initial release of Diablo 4, all of them returning from previous Diablo installments. These are the Barbarian (Diablo 2 and 3), the Sorcerer (Diablo 1 and 2), the Druid (Diablo 1 and 2), the Rogue (Diablo 1), and the Necromancer (Diablo 2 and 3).

The previous installment, Diablo 3, had 7 character classes in total, so we can assume that Diablo 4 will have the same number or even more character classes than that.

Each character class has its own playstyle, which will dictate how you will enjoy the rest of the game. Want to get up close and personal with melee weapons? Pick the Barbarian. Want an army of skeletons to do the job for you? Get the necromancer. Want to use powerful ranged magic? Then the sorcerer is your best bet.

Games That Will Come Out Alongside Diablo 4

Games Releasing in June 2023	How It Matches Up With Diablo 4
Street Fighter 6	Though Street Fighter 6 has brand-new open world gameplay, Diablo IV offers a much richer story that players can sink their teeth into and be satisfied with.
Final Fantasy 16	Though Final Fantasy 16 is a more involved adventure that's not just an open world but a true Action RPG, Diablo IV harkens back to a more classic treatment of the ARPG genre that fans of the series and new players will like.
Front Mission 2 Remake	Front Mission 2 is much slower than Diablo IV in terms of gameplay, and Diablo IV's fantasy roots will pull in more players compared to FM2's hard sci-fi.

How Diablo 4 Matches Up to Similar Games

Games Similar to Diablo 4	How It Matches Up With Diablo 4
Diablo 3	Diablo IV has a much grittier feel than its predecessor and deals with more vicious enemies and environments. So far, there's little difference in the gameplay of Diablo 4 and 3, but we will still have to get our hands on the final version of Diablo 4 just to be sure.
Path of Exile	Though Path of Exile is free-to-play, Diablo IV promises to have local co-op with your friends, on top of the possibility of faster content updates compared to Path of Exile.
Grim Dawn	Diablo 4's updated visuals and story promises to give a fuller experience compared to Grim Dawn. Though, considering how cheap Grim Dawn is these days, why not buy it at a discount to tide yourself over before Diablo 4 comes out?

Diablo 4 Trailers

Diablo IV Announce Cinematic (Released November 2, 2019)

Here, we see the updated cinematic graphics for Diablo IV, as well as what could've been the primary catalysts of the story: The summoning of Lilith into the world of Sanctuary.

Official Gameplay Trailer (Released November 2, 2019)

Here we first see the gameplay of Diablo 4, as well as the look of Sanctuary. It's become a far more desolate, unforgiving place full of horrible sights and terrifying monsters. We also see the kind of enemies that await us: Demons, giant snakes, the undead, and animals. The first three classes in the game are also introduced (the Sorceress, the Barbarian, and the Druid), as well as mounts.

Developer Gameplay Showcase (Released June 13, 2022)

We see the first glimpse of the two other character classes in the game (The Necromancer and the Rogue), as well as the character customization options for them. We're also shown that the game is set in an open world where there are strongholds to reclaim, towns to explore, and people to save. Multiplayer is also revealed to be available, as well as crossplay and local co-op.

Official Release Date Trailer (Released December 9, 2022)

Here, we find out more about the story and the battle between the forces of Inarius and Lilith in hell. Though the trailer is vague on details beyond that, it still establishes the sides that are vying for power in Sanctuary.

Beta Early Access Gameplay Trailer (Released March 2, 2023)

This trailer shows off the announcement of the beta early access, as well as the game's co-op features.

Beta Live Action Trailer (Released March 7, 2023)

This Live Action trailer filmed in France firmly establishes Lilith as the main villain in Diablo IV, and how the Wanderer must stop her from bringing ruin to the world.

Open Beta Gameplay Trailer (Released March 21, 2023))

This trailer mainly shows off Diablo IV's new graphics, as well as the various skills that the player will have access to while playing the various character classes.

Diablo 4 System Requirements

Based on the system requirements listed on the Battle.net website, Diablo 4 doesn’t appear to be graphically demanding. As long as you have a decent graphics card, an SSD, and sufficient RAM, you should be able to run it with minimal problems.

Diablo 4 Product Information

Title	Diablo 4
Release Date	June 5, 2023 (US - EST)
Developer	Blizzard Entertainment
Supported Platforms	PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Genre	Role-Playing Game
Number of Players	Single Player/Multiplayer
ESRB Rating	Mature 17+
Official Website	https://diablo4.blizzard.com/en-us

Michael Mendoza Ab..

Reviews video games by day, tries to write novels by night. He's a sucker for open-world games (Bethesda Fallout titles, Mount and Blade Bannerlord, Grand Theft Auto), CRPGs (Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium), and First-Person Shooters (Call of Duty, Battlefield, and immersive sims like Bioshock..