Diablo (series)
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''Diablo'' is an
action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
dungeon crawler A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "Dungeon#In fiction, dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may ...
video game series developed by
Blizzard North Blizzard North (formerly known as Condor) was an American video game development studio based in San Mateo, California. The studio was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for its ''Diablo'' series. The company was originally ba ...
and continued by
Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...
after the north studio shutdown in 2005. The series is made up of three core games: '' Diablo'', ''
Diablo II ''Diablo II'' is an action role-playing hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and macOS. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror the ...
'', and ''
Diablo III ''Diablo III'' is a hack-and-slash action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment as the third installment in the Diablo (series), ''Diablo'' franchise. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in May 2012, Play ...
''. Expansions include the third-party published '' Hellfire'', which follows the first game, '' Lord of Destruction'', published by Blizzard and released after the second game, and ''
Reaper of Souls ''Diablo III: Reaper of Souls'' is the expansion pack for the action role-playing video game ''Diablo III''. It was revealed at Gamescom 2013. It was released for the PC and Mac versions of ''Diablo III'' on March 25, 2014. The expansion pack co ...
'', which follows the third game. Additional content is provided through story elements explored in other media forms. ''
Diablo IV ''Diablo IV'' is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, and is the fourth main installment in the '' Diablo'' series. The game was announced on November 1, 2019 at BlizzCon 2019, and is schedule ...
'' was announced at
BlizzCon BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including ''Warcraft'', ''StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and ''Overwatch''. The first BlizzCon was hel ...
2019. The series is set in the
dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
world of Sanctuary, and its characters are primarily humans, angels, and various classes of demons and monsters. The first three games in the series take place in similar geographic areas, with several common areas including the town of Tristram and the region around Mount Arreat. Other notable settings include the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, two separate realms with ties to Sanctuary. The series primarily focuses on the ongoing conflict between the humans living in Sanctuary and the demon hordes who are led by Diablo, the series' overarching antagonist. The humans are occasionally aided by angels, notably the Archangel Tyrael. The video game series' popularity and success has resulted in the publishing of several books relevant to the ''Diablo'' setting, covering a wide range of timelines of the universe. There are also comics that explore various stories within the world of Sanctuary. , the series has sold over 24.8 million copies worldwide.


Premise

The universe of ''Diablo'' is divided into three realms: the High Heavens, the Burning Hells, and the human world of Sanctuary. Ever since their creation, the angels of the High Heavens and the demons of the Burning Hells have been at war with one another. Sanctuary was created by rebel angels and demons tired of the war, with their first children being dubbed Nephalem. The descendants of the Nephalem are humanity, and become a focal point for both angels and demons who wish to influence them for their own goals due to sharing angelic and demonic heritage.Burns, Matt. ''Book of Tyrael'' October 22, 2013. Insight Editions. The series' title character and main antagonist is Diablo, the Lord of Terror. According to the backstory and lore provided by Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo functions as one of the seven Great Evils presiding over the Burning Hells. Diablo eventually becomes the Prime Evil after absorbing the six other Great Evils, including his two brothers: Baal, the Lord of Destruction, and Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred.Diablo (manual). 1996. Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment. Two key characters who oppose Diablo in the series are
Deckard Cain Deckard Cain is a fictional character who appears in the ''Diablo (series), Diablo'' video game franchise by Blizzard Entertainment. Within the series, Cain is a prominent non player character who acts as an advisor and guide to the player charac ...
, an elderly scholar and the last descendant of the original Horadrim who serves as the core narrator of lore in the first three ''Diablo'' games,Dille, Flint. ''Book of Cain'' December 13, 2011. Insight Editions. and Tyrael, a member of the High Heavens' ruling Angiris Council who is sympathetic to humanity. Due to the ending of ''Diablo 2'' and the events of ''Diablo 3'', some humans begin awakening their Nephalem heritage. This awakening allows them to challenge the final Evils and eventually Diablo himself, after he manipulates events to become the Prime Evil. Though initially imprisoned, Diablo escapes and the Nephalem are perceived as a threat due to felling both angels and demons.


Games


''Diablo''

The setting of '' Diablo'' is the town of Tristram, the ''de facto'' capital of the Kingdom of Khanduras on the world of Sanctuary. The actual fighting takes place beneath the town in a maze of dungeons, catacombs, and caves that lead into the depths of Hell. The plot of ''Diablo'' centers around a player character undertaking a series of quests to free Tristram from Hell-spawned evil, descending through twelve levels of dungeons into Hell itself (the final four levels), where the player battles the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
, Diablo, Lord of Terror — one of the seven "Evils", demon lords who once ruled Hell. ''Diablo'' offers three character classes and the ''Hellfire'' expansion offers three more. Players can play as Warriors, Rogues (archers), or Sorcerers. Each class has its own place in the game's history, and all three classes make appearances as
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s in the sequel. All three classes have the same general skills and access to the same spells. Each of them has a class-specific skill (Item Repair, Trap Disarm, and Staff Recharge, respectively) that has as many drawbacks as benefits, except for Trap Disarm.


''Hellfire''

''Hellfire'' offers an additional character class: the Monk, in addition to two hidden character classes: the Barbarian and the Bard. The Monk fights best with staves or his bare hands and gains bonuses from wearing light or no armor. The Barbarian can wield two handed axes with only one hand but is entirely unable to cast spells throughout most of the game. The Bard is a character with relatively balanced statistics who can wield two single-handed weapons simultaneously. The Barbarian and the Bard can only be played using a file tweak, as they were unfinished. They utilize the art of the Warrior and Rogue, respectively, and have no lore. Additional quests and multiplayer capabilities (although not over Battle.net) are also unlockable through this simple tweak. ''Hellfire'' added two new dungeon environments on top of the four in the original ''Diablo'': the Nest and the Crypt. Each of these environments contains various new monsters to fight, but they contain no random quests or bosses and the generated levels contain no shrines or libraries. The final boss of Hellfire, Na-Krul, is found in the last level of the Sacred Crypt. ''Hellfire''s development was done by
Synergistic Software Synergistic Software was a video game developer based in Seattle. Founded in 1978, the company published some of the earliest available games and applications for the Apple II family of computers. They continued developing games for various platfo ...
with help from Blizzard and published by Sierra.


''Diablo II''

At the end of the first game, a warrior tried to contain Diablo's soul within himself. The warrior was unable to do so, and, by the beginning of ''
Diablo II ''Diablo II'' is an action role-playing hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and macOS. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror the ...
'', The Lord of Terror had taken control of the warrior's body and begun the process of freeing his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal. Players can choose from five distinct characters (seven when including the expansion) to control in their quest and explore the world of Sanctuary through four acts. At the end of each of the four acts, players face different devils, with Diablo at the end of the game. The character classes in particular were received much better than the previous game's. Unlike its predecessor, ''Diablo II'' provides an explanation for each character class to pursue Diablo: *The oracles of the
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
foretold that the final battle when mankind would at last be free of angelic and demonic manipulation was at hand. *The
Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
also expect a "final battle", in which they would be key players in deciding the fate of the world. *The
Necromancers Necromancy () is the practice of Magic (paranormal), magic or black magic involving communication with the Death, dead by Evocation, summoning their spirits as Ghost, apparitions or Vision (spirituality), visions, or by resurrection for the pur ...
determine that the Evils have grown too powerful and thus ally themselves with the forces of Light to restore balance to the world. *The
Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's royal court, court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of F ...
, wracked with guilt over their actions during the Inquisition, seek justice upon Mephisto, the true cause of the bloody crusade. *The Sorceresses join the battle with their mighty spells to stop the corruption of magic by the Evils. Characters from the previous game are also present in ''Diablo II''. The Rogues (as NPCs) are the hostesses of the player during Act I, and Sorcerers are seen regularly in Acts II and III. Unlike the original, each character has three distinct sets of skills/spells that they can use in the game. Several of the characters can also conjure magical minions, such as a Valkyrie (Amazon) or Skeletons and Golems (Necromancer). All players also have the option to hire a Rogue (Act I), a Warrior (Act II), or an Iron Wolf (a type of melee Sorcerer, Act III) to accompany them and help slay monsters. These "hirelings" have a few of their own skills and can be a great benefit to the player.


''Lord of Destruction''

Blizzard released '' Diablo II: Lord of Destruction'' on June 29, 2001. In the expansion, set after the events of ''Diablo II'', players seek to destroy Diablo's brother, Baal. The expansion includes a new act, new items, and two new character classes: *The Druids are descended from the Barbarians and have come out of hiding in preparation for the final battle between mankind and the Evils. *The Assassins have policed the mage-clans for centuries. Now, with news that Terror and Destruction (Diablo and Baal) roam free, the Assassins unleash their fury on Hell itself. Barbarians can also be hired in the new Act. The summoned units of the expansion characters are called "minions". Hirelings can be resurrected in Lord of Destruction and can be equipped with armor and weapons.


''Diablo II: Resurrected''

'' Diablo II: Resurrected'', a
remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...
of ''Diablo II'' which also includes the ''Lord of Destruction'' expansion, was released in 2021 for Windows,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
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,
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,
Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
, and
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and will support cross-progression between the different platforms. The remaster includes updated graphics and rerendering of the game's cutscenes, and does not change any of its item systems or game balance.


''Diablo III''

''Diablo III'' was announced at the
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including ''Warcraft'', ''StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', ''Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and ''Overwatch''. The first BlizzCon was held ...
on June 28, 2008. ''Diablo III'' takes place 20 years after ''Diablo II''. Five character classes are present in ''Diablo III'': The only directly returning class is the Barbarian. The Barbarians have a variety of revamped skills at their disposal based on the use of their incredible physical prowess. The Barbarian is able to Whirlwind through crowds, cleave through swarms, leap across crags, and crush opponents upon landing. The Witch Doctor is a new character reminiscent of the ''Diablo II'' Necromancer, but with skills more traditionally associated with voodoo culture. The Witch Doctor has the ability to summon monsters, cast curses, harvest souls, and hurl poisons and explosives at enemies. The Wizard is a version of the Sorceress from ''Diablo II'' or the Sorcerer from ''Diablo'', though it is much more than a mere elementalist. The Wizard's abilities range from shooting lightning, fire, and ice at their enemies to slowing time and teleporting around enemies and through walls. The Monk is a melee attacker, using martial arts to cripple foes, resist damage, deflect projectiles, attack with blinding speed, and land explosive killing blows. The Demon Hunter is a ranged rogue class. It was the last class to be introduced, and specializes in ranged attacks, setting traps for enemies, and evasion skills. The combat system was redone as well. Instead of the previous skill selection system used in ''Diablo II'' there is an action bar at the bottom of the screen. This change replaces the area where the potion-belt used to be in ''Diablo II''. For the first time in the series, players are able to choose the gender of their characters upon creation. The gender of the characters affects only visuals and voices. ''Diablo III''s release date was announced on March 15, 2012, and the game was released worldwide on May 15, 2012.


''Reaper of Souls''

''Diablo III: Reaper of Souls'' is an
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...
for ''
Diablo III ''Diablo III'' is a hack-and-slash action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment as the third installment in the Diablo (series), ''Diablo'' franchise. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in May 2012, Play ...
''. It was revealed at Gamescom 2013. It was developed for the PC and Mac versions of ''Diablo III'' and released on March 25, 2014, for those platforms. ''Reaper of Souls'' has been ported to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles. The ''Diablo III'' expansion includes a new character class, the Crusader, similar in style to the Paladin from ''Diablo II''.


''Rise of the Necromancer''

''Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer'' is a second expansion for ''
Diablo III ''Diablo III'' is a hack-and-slash action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment as the third installment in the Diablo (series), ''Diablo'' franchise. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in May 2012, Play ...
''. It was announced at BlizzCon 2016. It was released for the PC, Mac, and console versions of ''Diablo III'' on June 27, 2017. It introduces the Necromancer class, which prefers to strike from a distance, unleashing destruction from afar. The skeletal undead under their command overwhelm enemies before they have a chance to strike, and the horrific curses the necromancers employ cripple even the most resistant of demons. Necromancers can use their throngs of undead to create diversions, or to simply open a path for their master to escape to safety.


''Diablo Immortal''

''Diablo Immortal'' is the fourth installment in the ''Diablo'' franchise, released as an MMO ARPG for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and Android by Blizzard Entertainment and
NetEase NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile game ...
. It was announced during
BlizzCon 2018 BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including ''Warcraft'', '' StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and ''Overwatch''. The first BlizzCon was he ...
and released on June 2, 2022. It takes place in between the events of ''Diablo II: Lord of Destruction'' and ''Diablo III''. ''Diablo Immortal'' was met with a negative reception from fans upon announcement for its creation as a mobile game, and upon its release for the use of microtransactions.


''Diablo IV''

A fourth title in the series was announced at BlizzCon 2019.


Cancelled projects


''Diablo Junior''

''Diablo Junior'' was the working title for a cancelled single-player-only prequel to the original game. It started development after the release of ''Diablo II'' and was intended to be released on
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
and/or
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
. It was planned to be released in three different cartridges in the style of the ''
Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...
'' games, each featuring a different class from original ''Diablo'' (warrior, rogue or sorcerer). The project was eventually scrapped due to high production costs.


Project Hades

After the release of ''Reaper of Souls'', a development team led by Josh Mosqueira began work on a game that would be similar to ''
Dark Souls is a series of action role-playing games created by Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series began with the release of ''Dark Souls'' (2011) and has seen two sequels, ''Dark Souls II'' (2014) a ...
'', code-named Hades. The project was developed from 2014 to 2016 and featured an increase in difficulty and an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective, rather than the isometric style of previous ''Diablo'' titles. The cancellation of Hades coincided with Mosqueira leaving Blizzard.


Development

The origin of the first ''Diablo'' came from
David Brevik David Brevik (born February 14, 1968) is an American video game designer, producer and programmer who served as the co-founder and president of Blizzard North. He is best known for the critically acclaimed ''Diablo'' franchise. Currently he s ...
while at Condor Games around 1994. Brevik was heavily inspired by the
roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player characte ...
genre with turn-based combat, but with simplified role-playing game elements and a more expansive loot system. The name ''Diablo'' was based on
Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...
, which was where Brevik lived when he conceived the game idea. Condor was working alongside
Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...
at the time on a separate title. Blizzard offered to help develop Brevik's idea as it shared concepts with their recent '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', but strongly urged that they convert the game from turn-based to real-time combat, as well as later urging the including of multiplayer over their new Battle.net service. Over the course of development, Blizzard acquired Condor Games, with Condor, located in
San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
, becoming
Blizzard North Blizzard North (formerly known as Condor) was an American video game development studio based in San Mateo, California. The studio was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for its ''Diablo'' series. The company was originally ba ...
while Blizzard's main offices in
Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...
became Blizzard South. ''Diablo'' was released in January 1997. ''Diablo'' was a top selling game in 1997 with over a million copies sold that year, leading Blizzard to announce its sequel, ''
Diablo II ''Diablo II'' is an action role-playing hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and macOS. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror the ...
''. The sequel, while retaining much of the same gameplay as the original title, used very little of the original code, and had no formal design approach. Released in June 2000, ''Diablo II'' sold over 2 million copies within a month and a half of release, and reached four million a year later. Work on ''Diablo III'' started in 2001 at Blizzard North, but around 2003, several key figures from Blizzard North, include Brevik and the studio's founders, Max and Erich Schaefer, left the company over a dispute with
Vivendi Games Vivendi Games was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary of CUC International, after the latter acquired video game companies Davidson & Assoc ...
, the parent of Blizzard Entertainment. While the remaining staff of Blizzard North continued to work on their version of ''Diablo III'', Blizzard closed down the studio in August 2005 and scrapped most of the work on the existing ''Diablo III'' title and restarted its development within its own teams. Even after restarting development, ''Diablo III'' had a protracted development, but eventually was released in May 2012. Its initial launch was met with some criticism for changes from the prior ''Diablo'' formula, as well as requiring players to be connected to the Internet to play, but over ongoing patches and updates, Blizzard has been said to have improved the game from this initial take.


Gameplay

Maps for the in-game world are randomly generated in each ''Diablo'' game, which increases the replayability. Due to its procedurally generated maps and
hack and slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...
" nature, ''Diablo'' shares some similar mechanics as early
roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player characte ...
games, though with real-time gameplay, graphics, and sound. It was in fact originally conceived and pitched to Blizzard as what amounted to a graphical roguelike." he idea for ''Diablo''was modified over and over until it solidified when ave Brevikwas in college and got hooked on an ASCII game called Moria/Angband. When we pitched Diablo to Blizzard, we pitched a turn-based, single-player DOS game." The adventurer being based in a town above the dungeon and being able to use "scrolls of town portal" is a specific influence from '' Moria''. The gameplay loop for ''Diablo'' games relies on a constant search for better weapons and armor, known as loot. Items are randomly generated and usually have many attributes assigned to them. As a video game series which developed around
point and click Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and cli ...
gameplay mechanics, the mouse is traditionally used for moving and using abilities in PC versions of ''Diablo'' video games.


Other media


Novelizations


Comics

''Tales of Sanctuary'' by Phil Amara, Dave Land, and Francisco Ruiz Velasco is a comic book released on November 9, 2001, by
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
. It features three stories: *''Rage'' is about Azgar, a Druid in his struggle against Baal's minions. *''The Hand of Naz'' is about Renit the Dark Stalker, a Barbarian who allies with the Necromancer Cairo to find the titular artifact. *''Hatred's Bride'' is about Hale, a Paladin who saves a girl, Bay, from demons and seeks to protect her. In November 2011,
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
started producing a five-issue miniseries ''(Diablo III: Sword of Justice)'' by Aaron Williams with art and covers by Joseph LaCroix.


Merchandise

Action figures for the Barbarian character class, the Unraveller monster, and the Diablo character were sold in
Blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...
's online store and at retailers to complement the release of ''Diablo II''. An 18-inch collectible statue of ''Diablo III'' Barbarian class has been produced for sale by
Sideshow Collectibles Sideshow Collectibles is an American specialty manufacturer of movie, film, television and collectible action figures, statues, and high end pieces. Sideshow's licenses include ''Star Wars'', DC Comics, Marvel Comics, ''The Lord of the Rings'', Dis ...
.


Crossover appearances


''Heroes of the Storm''

In 2015, Blizzard released ''
Heroes of the Storm ''Heroes of the Storm'' is a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS on June 2, 2015. The game features various characters from Bli ...
'', a
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
multiplayer online battle arena Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...
video game, in which players can control over 15 characters from the ''Diablo'' universe as playable heroes. All character classes from ''Diablo III'', popular classes from ''Diablo II'', as well as notable characters from the franchise, including Deckard Cain, Diablo, Malthael, Mephisto, and Tyrael are represented within the game. ''Heroes of the Storm'' features two ''Diablo''-themed battlegrounds, Battlefield of Eternity and Infernal Shrines. Various soundtracks from ''Diablo'' franchise, such as ''Jungle'' (Act III) and ''Ancients'' from ''Diablo II'', and ''Reaper of Souls'' from ''Diablo III'', are present as background music in the game.


''World of Warcraft''

Characters from the series have also appeared in ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...
'', a
massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
created and developed by Blizzard set in the ''
Warcraft ''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of five core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...
'' universe, usually as
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
references or in-game "pet" companions. Examples include miniature versions of Diablo and Tyrael, a flying mount usable by the player character called Tyrael's Charger, and a
composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. Use in film *Several characters in the movie '' 21''. *The character Henry Hurt in the docudra ...
named Murkablo.


Reception

The games in the ''Diablo'' series on all release platforms have received generally favorable reviews from critics. Both ''Diablo'' and ''Diablo II'' are considered by multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines to be among the best video games of all time. Each entry in the series have been financial successes. ''Diablo II'' sold 4 million copies in the year it was released. ''Diablo III'' sold 3.5 million copies in the first day and 6.3 million copies in the first week. Another 1.2 million copies were given to subscribers to Blizzard's Annual Pass service. The ''Diablo III'' release was the fastest-selling PC game of all time. The title character of the franchise has been well received as its overarching antagonist. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine named ''Diablo'' the second most influential video game character of all time, calling the character "gaming's archetypal foozle, an illimitable damage sponge into which players pour a game's worth of tactical preparation, informed by scrupulous looting, savvy inventory juggling and ability streamlining". Diablo placed #44 on a list of top 50 video game villains featured by ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' in 2013. ''GamePro'' ranked Diablo #14 on its list of the most diabolical video game villains of all time, noting that he "corrupts the soul of the hero of ''Diablo I'' in order to reincarnate in ''Diablo II''".''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' ranked Diablo 74th in their list of "Top 100 Video Game Villains", as well as their pick for the third best Blizzard character in a list published in 2017. ''Complex'' staff ranked Diablo 7th in their list of the 50 coolest video game villains of all time, describing the character as the "epitome of all evil comes in the form of a giant red behemoth that resembles the classic image of Satan as portrayed in most Judeo-Christian imagery, and he's one bad muh." Other recurring characters in the series, such as Deckard Cain and Tyrael, have also been positively received. In 2016, ''Glixel'' staff ranked Tyrael the 39th most iconic video game character of the 21st century, and his unwavering opposition against the Prime Evils after they have been unwittingly released to be the character's most "iconic moment".


Legal issues

In May 2021, Blizzard Entertainment commenced legal proceedings against Fox Media in a dispute over the trademark rights for the name "Diablo". Fox sought to register the name "Diablo" with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
in an apparent effort to market merchandise relating to a character of the same name from the adult animated sitcom ''
HouseBroken ''HouseBroken'' is an American animated sitcom created by Jennifer Crittenden, Clea DuVall, and Gabrielle Allan that premiered on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox on May 31, 2021. In August 2021, the series was renewed for a second season which prem ...
'', which premiered on May 31, 2021. Blizzard's legal representatives sought to block Fox's application and argued in their filing that Fox's use of the term "Diablo" for the ''HouseBroken'' character is “likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive”.


References


External links

* {{Blizzard Entertainment Video games about demons Video games about angels Video games set in hell Activision Blizzard franchises Action role-playing video games by series Hack and slash video games by series Video game franchises introduced in 1997 Articles which contain graphical timelines Video games adapted into comics Video games adapted into novels