Blizzard celebrates 20 years of ‘Diablo’; cross-franchise event starts December 31

Twenty years ago, Diablo the Lord of Terror first brought his unique brand of evil to the world of Sanctuary, and today in celebration of nearly a quarter century of his reign, he’s invading a few other worlds as well. Blizzard announced today that Diablo-themed goodies will be up for grabs in its other popular franchises, starting on December 31.

“Starting soon you can experience special in-game events and goodies in Diablo III, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Overwatch, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft to celebrate a few of the things we love about Diablo,” reads the post from Blizzard Entertainment.

Make sure you have your games updated and ready to go, the in-game items and events will only be available for a limited time, though Blizzard didn’t quite specify how limited.

True to form, Blizzard remained coy about some of the details of its cross-franchise Diablo event, and only laid out the specifics for a handful of its franchises. StarCraft II players, for instance, can expect to find a Diablo-themed worker portrait, but apparently nothing else.

Similarly, Overwatch will see some Diablo-themed in-game sprays, and a new player icon. Heroes of the Storm players, on the other hand, will be treated to a new brawl map, and a new player portrait, while Hearthstone players will be able to face off against a hooded stranger with a mysterious new deck.

World of Warcraft will also see some new events, although Blizzard only offered a cryptic clue, suggesting that certain denizens of Sanctuary will cross over into Azeroth for a short time.

What about Diablo III? Well, as we reported previously, Diablo III players will be able to re-play the original Diablo game, and revisit the classic cathedral dungeon in the Darkening of Tristram event.