Blizzard hasn’t been more specific than “sometime in 2023” when it comes to Diablo 4’s release date. According to Windows Central and the XboxEra podcast, the game will officially land in April. Those who can’t wait for the action RPG might be able to pre-order it in December, which will also grant access to the open beta in February 2023. Rumors claim that a segment of the Game Awards, taking place on December 8, will be dedicated to Diablo 4. Pre-orders are expected to open as soon as the details are announced during the event. The Game Awards is also said to be where Blizzard begins its massive marketing campaign for Diablo 4. Blizzard previously said it would offer more extensive live-service Seasons in Diablo 4 compared to Diablo 3 and Diablo 2: Resurrected. The company says Diablo 4 is a full-price game with a Cosmetics Shop and Season Pass (with free and premium tiers), though it emphasizes that none of these provide any pay-for-power options.
There was, and still is, plenty of anger toward Blizzard for its aggressive monetization in the mobile/PC free-to-play title Diablo Immortal, which has made it one of the lowest user-scored games on Metacritic—users can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars maxing out characters. But the outcry isn’t impacting sales; Diablo Immortal made $97 million on iOS and Android in August, up 42% month-over-month. Blizzard has long claimed that monetization is only a big part of Diablo Immortal’s end game and that most players don’t spend any money. Given the backlash against that title and Diablo 4 being a paid-for game, one would imagine Blizzard won’t be as pushy with its monetization efforts in the next entry. But making $100 million per month probably softens the blow of all that anger. If you’re a big Diablo fan and a hardcore player, Blizzard said last month that it is looking for Diablo “experts” for the first closed Diablo IV beta test.
