Diablo 5 is officially in development, and it promises to usher in the "next era of Diablo" as you step into a fallen world and fight to survive.
Announced during Blizzcon 2026, the team at Blizzard Entertainment celebrated Diablo's 30th anniversary by dropping a hellish teaser for the new game. Not only that, but the showcase also featured a "Forging the Next Era" panel that shed more light on the ambitions of the follow-up to Diablo 4, with details on the new direction for the longstanding setting of Sanctuary, some of its systems and classes were also revealed.
With a rough release date window that places it a little under a handful of years away, there'll be a bit of a wait until it arrives. But since the last Diablo entry is still counted among the best ARPGs of recent times, it's undoubtedly exciting to know an ambitious upcoming game is in the works that's setting out to take the series "somewhere genuinely new". So, if you're looking to catch up on what was revealed, read on as I take you through everything you need to know about Diablo 5, from its launch window, to its story and world, and more.
Diablo 5 release date and platform speculation
Diablo 5's release date is currently slated for sometime in Spring 2029, and no platforms have been confirmed so far.
With a distant launch window, it makes sense that no platforms have been revealed as of yet. It's a safe bet that it will launch on PC when it initially arrives. Of course, it's difficult to know what the landscape of consoles will look like in 2029, but judging by Diablo games in past years, it will likely come to Xbox and PlayStation. And since Diablo 4 officially joined the lineup of upcoming Switch 2 games for September 2026, there's every possibility Diablo 5 will follow suit.
Diablo 5 trailer
Diablo 5 story and setting
Diablo 5 is set to bring you back into the mortal realm of Sanctuary, but as Blizzard revealed, the world is no longer waiting for an apocalypse to happen because it's already going through one when you first step into it. Humanity has now fallen, Diablo has won and rules, and his reign of terror is reshaping the world. As detailed in the panel and on Blizzard's official site, this will be reflected in the game through a procedural landscape where monsters, points of interest, and terrain can change each time you return.
With Diablo at the heart of the story and events of Diablo 5 (having last appeared in Diablo 3 as a final boss fight), narrative director Jennifer Brandes Helper said, "once we decided that this game was going to bring Diablo back, we knew we had to do it right. He couldn't just be a final boss. He needs to be the force that's shaping this game from its opening moments. And that's how we decided that this time, you're not scrambling to protect Sanctuary before Diablo can rise and take it over."
As Helper explains, other heroes tried to rise up and stop Diablo, but failed. Now, you're venturing into the aftermath of what they failed to prevent. Essentially that means that you're going to experience, as Helper puts it, a world that "all other Diablo games were trying to prevent from happening".
Senior art director John Mueller adds that the team are "doubling down on darkness" for Diablo 5, which is captured in the apocalyptic setting. But as Helper notes, they've tried to create a Sanctuary that's still worth fighting for, even if it's fallen to ruin.
As you fight for Sanctuary, you'll be playing as Heir to Westmarch, a continent that now serves, in the words of senior game director John Shely, as Diablo's "outpost of Hell". Now entirely overrun, most humans that remain have become corrupted or turned into cultists. Anyone who resists Diablo is put in soul cages or drawn into the Terror realm, which is where the story begins – as you'll discover, you can survive in the Terror realm, and it's here that you'll find out about some powers you have that Blizzard is keeping quiet about for the time being.
Curiously, in your role, you'll have a unique connection or bond with Diablo that you'll learn more about over the course of the game. Helper says this will put you in a unique position to face him and gain insight into him, but you'll also have a particular vulnerability to the Lord of Terror and what he can do to you in turn.
Diablo 5 gameplay
While it's still early days and it'll likely be some time before we actually see any Diablo 5 gameplay, the team did share some details about certain aspects of the game and its features.
Survival, for example, is now connected to a caravan of allies you work to build up rather than clearing out strongholds or towns. As the team at Blizzard explain, these allies can come in the form of both vendors and companions, and each one has their own stories to tell, with their own "pasts, stakes, and scars from surviving Diablo's Sanctuary".
In terms of companions, we so far know that they will include a former sister of the Sightless Eye, and a stranded Treasure Goblin.
The team is trying to design items that "feel readable, memorable, and worth chasing across hundreds of hours". Gear-based stats will be returning with a deep crafting system that takes cues from Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred's approach, and Diablo 5 will also take inspiration from Diablo 2's Runes and Runewords.
Diablo 5 classes
Some of Diablo 5's classes have already been revealed, including an entirely new class that will be introduced in the new game. The classes are as follows:
- Demon Hunter – A ranged class that first appeared in Diablo 3, Demon Hunters make use of twin crossbows and use the shadows to their advantage to take out foes.
- Monk – Another returning class, the Monk is an agile warrior who uses their fists to fight enemies and holy powers to smite them.
- Plague Knight – A new class introduced in Diablo 5, the Plague Knight is described as "the embodiment of walking death" who can spread disease and pestilence on the battlefield.
Diablo 5 development
Diablo 5 is now in early development, with Blizzard stating that the reveal "marks the beginning of an ongoing conversation" with the Diablo player community. Setting out to take player feedback on board throughout the development of the game, regular updates are set to be shared as of 2027 to offer up a closer look at features, progress, and more.
"Bringing players into the process early gives us the opportunity to listen, understand what excites you the most, and allow that to inform the decisions ahead," Blizzard's official post on Diablo 5 reads. "We want to build a Diablo game that honors what players love while taking the series somewhere genuinely new."
If you're keen to follow the development, you can currently sign up for future updates here.
While you wait for the next Diablo, you can also check out our pick of the best Diablo games if you're looking to revisit or discover the series.
For more on what's next from Blizzard, check out our guide to everything we know about StarCraft, the new open-world, story-driven shooter.
