Diablo IV will be released on June 6, 2023, according to a new report documenting the challenges Blizzard employees have faced over the course of the game’s development. The date lines up with previous leaks via the Microsoft store that pointed towards a June release.
The Washington Post reports Diablo IV was originally slated to arrive in April 2023, but that the team “felt it needed more time and was able to get the June date approved.” However, there is still work to be done on Diablo IV, with the Post reporting that while it is not being required, the development team is being incentivized to work long hours and “crunch” on the project due to various stock bonuses that will be paid out once Diablo IV releases and are at least partly based on performance.
According to one Blizzard employee quoted in the article, Blizzard is “not willing to delay the game anymore,” so the team will have to “figure out how much we’re willing to hurt ourselves to make sure the game gets released in a good enough state.” An internal company email from November sent to the Diablo IV team acknowledged that the development team was “moving into a period where some people may put in some extra hours.”
Blizzard looked to bring in additional help to get Diablo IV over the finish line in the form of the Activision-owned developer Vicarious Visions, now known as Blizzard Albany. However, the integration process has been described as bumpy, which has led to duplicate work, according to the Post.
Blizzard is expected to officially announce Diablo IV’s release date at The Game Awards. In a recent Diablo IV hands-on preview, we said the upcoming ARPG seems to be “on the right track” and delivers “on its promise of giving players far more agency than before in how they both play and build their favorite characters.”
