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Diablo 5 is shaping up to be very different from Diablo 4. The sequel is set a hundred years after Diablo 4 in the aftermath of Diablo (the demon)’s apocalyptic destruction of Sanctuary, and it’s going to bring fundamental changes to combat, classes, and loot.
Several Diablo 5 developers took the stage today at BlizzCon 2026 to talk about their vision for the game, noting that everything is still a work-in-progress and subject to change between now and the spring 2029 release window.
A lot of Diablo 5’s biggest changes feel like a response to both player reception of Diablo 4—specifically what it lacked compared to previous games and competitors, like Path of Exile—and the much darker setting.
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The campaign begins several years after a golden age for Sanctuary, right as it falls into the hands of the big bad Diablo. Like Mephisto in Diablo 4, Diablo will be a full character as opposed to just a boss you fight at the end. Much of the story will involve restoring the western continent and Westmarch, the most iconic location in the series, from its ravaged state.
Here’s what I gleaned from the 30-minute panel:
- Diablo 5 will go back to procedurally-generated dungeons and open-world regions that will change every time you return to them
- Towns won’t exist; instead, you’ll have a caravan of NPCs you’ll meet throughout the story (one of your buddies will be a treasure goblin)
- Sidequests will all come from the people in your caravan
- The demon hunter and monk classes are returning
- New classes will show up too, including the plague knight: a heavily-armored class that spreads disease around the battlefield
- It will launch with more classes than every Diablo game has launched with combined
- Items will have tiers, starting simple and growing in complexity as you progress
- Belts and set items are coming back
- Items will take up multiple inventory slots based on their type, like Diablo 2
- The team is experimenting with items that require certain stat thresholds—which is also reminiscent of Diablo 2
Blizzard said we can expect to hear regular updates on the development of Diablo 5 starting next year, and emphasized that it will be changing things as it goes along based on player feedback.
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