Abstract:
The Diablo series is ushering in a new trend: At today's BlizzCon, Blizzard officially announced "Diablo 5". Its story is set a century after "Diablo 4", when Sanctuary has completely fallen to the hands of Diavolo, the Lord of Fear.
However, "Diablo 5" will not be officially launched until 2029. During this transition period, Blizzard will continue the plot of "Diablo 4" through seasonal content, but there are currently no plans to launch more expansion packs for the game.
“Our current focus is on the season update of Diablo 4 and the development of Diablo 5,” Diablo series game director Brent Gibson said in an interview during BlizzCon. “We believe that the story of the Chapter of Hatred has been completely concluded. The plot surrounding Mephisto has brought a successful conclusion to the chapter of the King of Hatred, and now we are turning to the story of the Chapter of Fear.”
Although there are currently no development plans for a new expansion pack, the plot of "Diablo 4" does not end here. Combined with the world view setting of "Diablo 5", Blizzard needs to gradually lay out the arrival of the end of the world, and judging from the current planning, this part of the plot will gradually unfold through subsequent seasons. Of course, nothing is finalized yet.
"The story of "Diablo 5" takes place one hundred years after the entire plot of "Diablo 4", which gives us sufficient creative space to work with all players to explore more possibilities of the plot as we move towards the new game," Gibson said. "We attach great importance to the continuity of the plot, but have not yet fully determined the specific direction of the plot because we hope to adjust the content based on player feedback for each season."
The reporter also asked about the future operating model: whether there will be a situation like "Path of Exile" and "Path of Exile 2" where service games and sequels are operated in parallel, or will development resources be fully shifted to new games after the release of "Diablo 5".
Gibson said that as long as there are still players playing "Diablo 4", the official will not stop supporting it. He cited "Diablo 2: Remastered" as an example of Blizzard's long-term commitment to the entire Diablo "universe" - the game also added a new profession earlier this year.
"You know, "Diablo 4" is deeply loved by players and has a very large player base," Gibson said. "We will continue to provide content support for this game for a long time."
The specific form of support is currently unclear, but "Diablo 5" is still a long time away from being launched, and relevant plans are expected to continue to iterate based on player feedback. "Diablo 3" may not necessarily become a reference template, but the game is currently in a content cycle, constantly rotating its core season content.
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