Skip to main content

Blizzard denies that ‘Diablo 4’ reveal was dropped from BlizzCon

Diablo 3 Image used with permission by copyright holder

It turns out a Diablo 4 reveal wasn’t dropped from the BlizzCon opening ceremony at the last moment, according to Blizzard. Hours after Kotaku reported that a Diablo 4 video announcement had been removed from the presentation, Blizzard told Kotaku that the reveal wasn’t actually in the cards for BlizzCon.

“First off we want to mention that we definitely hear our community. We generally don’t comment on rumors or speculation, but we can say that we didn’t pull any announcements from BlizzCon this year or have plans for other announcements. We do continue to have different teams working on multiple unannounced Diablo projects, and we look forward to announcing when the time is right,” Blizzard said in a statement.

It seems like Blizzard doesn’t know when it will officially announce Diablo 4, though we already know that it’s in development. According to Kotaku, Blizzard did in fact create a video message featuring studio co-founder Allen Adham, as originally reported. In the address, Adham would relay to fans that Diablo 4 wasn’t available to show off, but that it was currently in development. If and when we’ll ever see that message remains to be seen.

Diablo Immortal Gameplay Trailer

The team working on Diablo 4 doesn’t seem quite ready to show it off. In the four years since the sequel was conceived, the project has had “at least two different iterations under “different directors.” It sounds like Blizzard is still figuring out what it wants Diablo 4 to be.

While it shouldn’t be surprising that Blizzard didn’t reveal Diablo 4 during BlizzCon, a teaser video probably could have mitigated much of the maelstrom surrounding Diablo Immortal. The video message from Adham would have been comparable to when Nintendo teased a core Pokémon game for Switch, the Metroid Prime 4 logo reveal, and Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls VI tease at E3.

Diablo Immortal anchored the BlizzCon opening ceremony over the weekend. Once it was shown, the presentation ended and the mixed reactions started pouring in immediately. If you’ve been following this saga, you already know that Diablo Immortal received a ton of backlash, including mass down votes on YouTube and even an audience question about whether the mobile game was an April Fool’s joke.

For what it’s worth, we enjoyed our hands-on time with Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon. While you continue to wait for the inevitable reveal of Diablo 4, make sure to check out our interview with Adham. He assured us that Blizzard hasn’t forgotten about core Diablo fans.

Updated on November 6, 2018: Revised to reflect Blizzard’s denial that a video reveal of Diablo 4 was planned for BlizzCon.

Editors' Recommendations

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Best Diablo 4 Necromancer builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear
The necromancer holding a balde in a crypt.

Why should all those corpses you create in Diablo 4 go to waste? You'll be ripping through swaths of demons, monsters, and other evils all across Sanctuary during your adventure, and if you're not playing in a group, you might feel a little lonely. Thankfully, the Necromancer is here to turn those former foes into brand-new friends. Sure, Necromancers have typically been seen as the villains, but you're free to flip the script and show the world they can be heroes too. Becoming a master of the dead isn't so simple, so we've come up with two of the best Necromancer builds to test out in Diablo 4.
Necromancer overview
The Necromancer is a very interesting class in Diablo 4. Not only can it serve as a high-damage, single-target class, but it also has some strong area of effect options. Of course, the thing that really makes this class stand out is the ability to summon up minions to fight on your behalf, keeping you from being overwhelmed by enemies. How and why you summon those minions is where the diversity comes in, so let's take a look at some build options.
Bone Spirit build

If you want to hit as hard as possible, then this Bone Spirit build will certainly do the trick. By focusing on maximizing crit chances, you'll be able to crush even the tankiest of foes in just a few hits. This does take a good bit of mechanical skill, but once you've gotten the hang of it, you'll basically be unstoppable.
Must-have skills
Reap: This one is basic, but you need your normal scythe swipe to fall back on. Mainly, you'll just use this as a corpse creator for other skills.

Read more
Best Diablo 4 Sorcerer builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear
Diablo 4

Each of the five classes in Diablo 4 plays to different strengths. All of them are viable for completing the game, whether you're going through the story alone or with a group of friends, but it is important to know what role each one serves best and how to optimize them to take advantage of those strengths. The skill trees for each character can be a bit overwhelming, especially if this is your first time venturing into the world of Sanctuary. If the Sorcerer has caught your eye as a fun character to begin with, then a little guidance on how to make a powerful build will go a long way. Here is a general overview of the Sorcerer class, plus some examples of builds you can work toward to melt all that oppose you with powerful magic in Diablo 4.
Sorcerer overview

The Sorcerer is a magic-focused class that focuses on three primary elemental magics: Fire, Ice, and Lightning. They tend to be something of a glass cannon, meaning they deal very high damage, but are not able to take many hits. There are ways to mitigate your more squishy nature, but this isn't a class you should pick if you want to get right up in your enemies' faces and beat them down. Sorcerers are best used at range, so they can keep moving and dishing out tons of damage and effects.
Lightning build

Read more
How the Paragon Board works in Diablo 4
inarius diablo 4

Despite how deep your character builds can get in Diablo 4, the game does a decent job of slowly dishing out its mechanics and complexities over time. You start out gaining levels as expected, then are introduced to the Renown system, and not much else to confuse you for quite a while. Once you hit level 50, the game throws out another layer of complexity, this one far more confusing and intimidating than the others called the Paragon Board. If you're new to Diablo, seeing this new system will almost certainly overwhelm you. However, understanding and taking full advantage of it is essential if you expect to keep up with the end-game content. Don't get stun-locked by this massive system and let us show you exactly how the Paragon Board works in Diablo 4.
What is the Paragon Board?

In short, the Paragon Board is how you can keep strengthening your character beyond the level cap in Diablo 4. Once you hit level 50, alongside traditional XP, you will start to accumulate what is known as Paragon Points to spend on the board. Each point can be used to unlock a node on the board that grants your character some associated buff or bonus.

Read more