Six years after Diablo III originally hit Windows and macOS, a new installment in the franchise appears to be in the works. The news arrives by way of a job listing on Blizzard’s website looking for a dungeon artist for an unannounced Diablo project. The minions of hell are growing stronger, Blizzard says, thus it’s now seeking a skilled artist to confine those demons to caves and caverns for your hacking and looting pleasure.
“We’re working on a new, unannounced Diablo project. Are you a skilled Dungeon Artist? Come work with us, and together we will build something exceptional,” the job listing states. “The ideal candidate works well in an environment of peers who are passionate about working on the dark gothic world of Diablo, making great games, killing millions of monsters and getting loot!”
You can’t get any clearer than that. The remainder of Blizzard’s job listing talks about modeling and texturing “compelling assets,” and having a real grasp on 2D and 3D imagery regarding color, light, and form. Candidates must obviously work well with others who are just as passionate about the Diablo environment, as they will work directly with the level design team, the lead environment artist, and the art director.
The last release in the Diablo franchise was the Rise of the Necromancer DLC for Diablo III in June 2017. Unlike the first two installments, Diablo III has received a bit more shelf life since its debut in May 2012 due to its expansion and DLC, ongoing updates to the core game, seasons that allow players to start over every few months, the auction house, player versus player combat, and so much more.
The original Diablo smashed onto the PC on the last day of 1996 followed by the PlayStation version in March 1998 and the MacOS version in May 1998. The Hellfire expansion introduced the monk, barbarian, and bard classes along with the nest and crypt environments at the end of 1998.
In 2000, Blizzard introduced the next installment, Diablo II, followed by the Lord of Destruction expansion pack in June 2001. Blizzard then began working on Diablo III that same year but didn’t acknowledge the game until three revisions later in 2008. Diablo III finally hit Windows and MacOS in 2012 and has since evolved into a service given the changes it’s endured over the last six years.
With the Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer downloadable content, Blizzard brought back the necromancer class from Diablo II along with class-based armor and weapons. The DLC also introduced two new zones in Adventure Mode (the Moors, Temple of the Firstborn), Realms of Fate bounties, challenge rifts, and more.
Creating a new Diablo installment seems rather likely given the age of Diablo III and the advancement of CPUs and graphics chips since the time Blizzard originally developed Diablo III‘s proprietary engine. The job listing implies that Blizzard may be in the early stages of content development, but hopefully that doesn’t mean Diablo IV will arrive in 2022.
