Blizzard announces Diablo 2: Resurrected for PC and consoles
Secret stash.
Blizzard has announced Diablo 2: Resurrected, a remaster of the hugely-popular 20-year-old action-role-playing game.
Diablo 2: Resurrected includes a remaster of the 2000 original game and the 2001 Lord of Destruction expansion, with high-resolution 3D visuals and Dolby 7.1 surround sound.
It's due out later in 2021 on PC, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. There is cross-progression, but not cross-play. There's co-op for up to eight players, but no couch co-op. The PC version features controller support. A technical alpha test kicks off soon. You can sign up on Diablo2.com.
Diablo 2: Resurrected takes the 2D sprite-based original and layers full 3D physically-based rendering, dynamic lighting, revamped animations and spell effects on top in up to 4K resolution.
The idea is to recreate the original gameplay, and so you're able to switch between the original and modern visuals at will. However, all 27 minutes of the game's cinematics have received the remake treatment, shot for shot from the ground up.
Blizzard has left Diablo 2's quirks, such as balance issues and translation errors, intact, but has added quality of life improvements, such as a shared stash. No need for a mule character!
All the character classes from Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction are present and correct (the Amazon, Barbarian, Necromancer, Paladin, and Sorceress from the core game, and the Assassin and Druid from Lord of Destruction expansion).
Diablo 2: Resurrected is in development at Blizzard and in-house studio Vicarious Visions, which was brought into the Blizzard fold following the release of the superb Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.