The announcement of Diablo 5 at BlizzCon over the weekend was among the fan event’s highlights. Blizzard shared a surprising number of details about a game that’s early in development, and one that won’t be released for another three years.
Comparisons to Diablo 4 are inevitable, of course, but they’re especially relevant considering how different Diablo 4 is to what came before – Diablo 4 is essentially an ARPG wrapped in an MMO skin.
So can we expect Diablo 5 to follow Diablo 4’s example? Blizzard is being coy. Senior game director Joe Shely revealed in a group interview at BlizzCon (via PC Gamer) that Diablo 5 will indeed support multiplayer, just like it will be playable solo.
“Like Diablo 4, it is a game that you can play solo or multiplayer, however you please, and you should be able to play all of the content with your friends,” said Joe Shely.
As far as the structure of the multiplayer experience, Blizzard said those details will be confirmed closer to Diablo 5’s 2029 launch. How the game handles multiplayer and co-op is a notable topic here because of a major returning feature: the game’s procedurally-generated world.
As confirmed during BlizzCon, Diablo 5 is bringing back Diablo 3‘s procedural generation tech, which randomises the layouts of dungeons each time you enter. The same is also true for the overworld, with Blizzard emphasising that regions will be altered on every visit.
In other words, each player could technically experience a different version of Sanctuary. That decision may make it difficult for Diablo 5 to borrow Diablo 4’s MMO-lite approach to multiplayer, but we’re only speculating here.
It’s also worth pointing out that Diablo 5 isn’t bringing back towns, which, among other things, act as hubs for players to meet and rest up in between quests. Diablo 5 instead tells the story of a caravan of lone survivors on the road across Sanctuary, so finding ways to interact with other players may prove challenging.
Blizzard promised to start sharing regular Diablo 5 development updates sometime in 2027. Indeed, the developer said it’s open to feedback, so some of what’s revealed may look different come launch.
