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JEFF RUBENSTEIN: Hey, all people!
Welcome to the official XBOX Podcast, the one podcast coming to you from inside XBOX or as we speak contained in the Anaheim Conference Middle.
We’re at BlizzCon 2026.
It’s my first one, and I’m simply so hyped.
It’s unbelievable.
LINA MADRID: We’ve already been working round, taking footage with every little thing.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: Taking part in video games.
LINA MADRID: Taking part in video games, all proper.
However proper now we’re right here to speak all issues Diablo.
And becoming a member of us are Tiffany and Matt, welcome.
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Howdy.
TIFFANY WAT: Hey.
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Thanks for having us.
LINA MADRID: So let’s dive into this.
TIFFANY WAT: All proper.
LINA MADRID: Diablo, clearly having an enormous 12 months.
TIFFANY WAT: Thirty years.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, thirtieth anniversary.
After which, over 130 million gamers have walked the Path to Hell.
Fairly unbelievable, proper?
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Yeah, we’re very excited to see tons of followers come out and luxuriate in Diablo right here at BlizzCon.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and like displaying no indicators of stopping both, simply maintain going.
Huge announcement, Diablo V.
You heard the crowds cheering, screaming for it.
TIFFANY WAT: It was very energizing and such — like regardless of the optimistic model of like weight off my chest, to lastly have the ability to inform the world what we’ve been engaged on.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, I can’t think about like the sensation if you’re there on stage revealing that second.
Are you able to like stroll us by way of what was in your head?
Certain.
I imply, the room was so alive.
I imply, we had been speaking about so many nice issues which have come to Diablo.
Such as you had been saying this 12 months, we introduced the Amazon, now we have the Season of Hell’s Legacy for Diablo IV.
We’ve simply had an unbelievable 12 months with the Paladin and the Warlock.
And so I felt prefer it was simply rising vitality the increasingly we had been speaking.
And I used to be like, we’re going to land this.
They’re going to be blown away.
And when that brand landed and Diablo was in smoke and ashes, I imply, the room simply erupted.
And I knew that was going to occur simply because I might really feel it coming.
And that’s how I really feel each time I take into consideration Diablo V.
However it’s simply so gratifying to lastly have the ability to share with the world, simply the world we’ve been creating.
And we’ve simply been so excited to speak about it for fairly a bit now.
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Yeah, seeing the brand reveal come collectively on the lead as much as BlizzCon, I had an identical response to Tiffany of simply seeing it come collectively and being like, yeah, we’re doing this.
That is going to occur.
It’s going to be actual.
Gamers are going to adore it.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: One of many issues Blizzard has all the time performed a very good job of is holding video games going, like new character for Heroes of the Storm as we speak.
Warcraft III will get an entire new marketing campaign.
And naturally, there have been tons of bulletins round Diablo IV, which we’ll be speaking about right here in a pair minutes.
Diablo II Resurrected received the Warlock this 12 months.
Diablo Immortal’s getting tons of stuff too.
As all these concepts are floating round, how do you go, you understand what, like the concept now we have is just too massive for something that presently exists and it’s time for a brand new period of Diablo?
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Yeah.
I believe it begins actually by ensuring we perceive our gamers tremendous effectively.
You mentioned it your self, there’s like many various variations of Diablo now.
We’ve received 30 years of Diablo, 130 million gamers.
Over time, we’ve accrued fairly a group of several types of gamers.
There’s gamers who love the story and the characters, gamers who love the darkish fantasy vibes, gamers who wish to construct craft and principle craft and min-max their character and grind for loot and all people in between, individuals who wish to soar on Discord or simply play with their pals, proper?
So now we have lots of several types of Diablo gamers.
And in order that’s actually inspiring for us.
We’re ready to take a look at every of these kinds of gamers and say, what’s going to make one of the best, most genuine Diablo recreation for them?
And I believe that’s the place we begin.
We begin there and we begin, get within the room and we begin serious about what options want to come back collectively to make the very best Diablo recreation.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
Within the Diablo V reveal trailer, there was one second that gave me chills, and it was when the textual content “Sanctuary Falls” reveals up.
How do you even start to craft a world the place the heroes have misplaced?
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: So darkish.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
TIFFANY WAT: It’s been actually thrilling to truly lean right into a story that we’ve by no means actually had the chance to inform earlier than.
Which is, what’s the world like after Diablo has already received?
We’re all the time attempting to cease him from taking on Sanctuary, and I believe having the ability to land just like the battle has received and Diablo has received it, simply permits us to have the ability to discover like a darker facet of Sanctuary than ever earlier than.
As a result of now there are so few survivors.
There are only a few alternatives to search out hope.
They nonetheless exist.
There are glimmers of hope.
They stay within the Caravan and the tales we’re going to have the ability to inform there.
That post-apocalyptic world, the concept that it’s very desolate, that survival is difficult, the world of Diablo lends itself to this sort of story so effectively that it’s nearly like, wow, why haven’t we informed this story earlier than?
And also you’d ask the query of moving into the following period of Diablo.
Matt was kind of speaking about it on stage earlier.
It’s like we knew that we actually wished to inform the story of Diablo.
I really feel like he’s the lead Prime Evil, and he actually wants his personal recreation and a strategy to like clean up that story.
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Yeah.
And it’s additionally actually influenced how we take into consideration what the sport seems like.
John, our artwork director, I believe will say, all the time says, “We’re going to double down on darkness, doubling down on darkness, sin.” That’s been actually wonderful to see come collectively as we’ve began to develop the visuals for the sport and actually perceive like how will we take what’s already a fairly darkish scenario of the world of Sanctuary, caught within the inner battle, and really double down on it.
And I believe the way in which that we’re serious about architecting the world and what it seems like when hell is damaged by way of, what does an outpost of hell in Sanctuary really seem like, it offers us a chance to not solely discover what it seems like when Diablo has already received, however to see the tales play of what occurred to humanity within the invasion, Diablo’s invasion into Sanctuary, like see these tales play out visually within the palette of the world, I believe is an thrilling alternative as effectively.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: There’s solely a lot you may inform us now in 2026 for a recreation that’s popping out in 2029.
I’m simply actually inquisitive about like what are a few of the guiding rules?
What are a few of the issues we needs to be taking away and serious about as we muse for like the following three years?
I’m positive we’ll see extra in between every now and then.
Such as you talked about a few of the kinds of gamers that presently have interaction in Diablo and that there’s a Diablo for everybody.
Is there like a distinct segment or is there one thing there the place you’re like, oh, individuals who love this are going to like what we’re doing right here in Diablo V?
MATT ZIMMERMAN: Someone on the staff, I don’t know who, wrote a sticky notice and put it in our director’s workplace and it says, “Greatest marketing campaign ever.” And he seems at that on a regular basis, on a regular basis.
And it’s actually change into form of a pillar of how we take into consideration the sport.
And that’s an instance of us taking what was nice in Diablo IV and taking it additional.
Diablo IV I really feel like set a brand new commonplace for storytelling in a Diablo recreation.
The cinematics are off the charts.
Lilith is that this wonderful villain with depth and complexity.
And the solid actually involves life because the participant form of makes its approach from being form of exterior the story to being the central focus.
And so we checked out all these issues, all these elements that made Diablo IV’s marketing campaign actually sing, and noticed that as a chance to take it to the following degree.
And so I believe one of many issues that gamers can sit up for with Diablo V is taking every little thing we’ve discovered and constructed on for Diablo IV when it comes to how we inform a tremendous cinematic story and actually doing it higher.
LINA MADRID: We all know, it’s as soon as once more, approach too early for lots of particulars, however now we have to say it.
Netflix Diablo Animated Sequence.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: What a pop that received on stage.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, that was so wonderful to see.
I imply, is there something you could inform us?
TIFFANY WAT: Not as we speak [laughter].
I want that we might.
We’re simply as enthusiastic about that announcement as I believe everybody that listened to it’s.
The chance to have the ability to accomplice with them and actually develop the tales of Sanctuary is, I don’t know, I’m like tingling really serious about it.
I can’t wait to see it come to life.
And actually, like I mentioned, deliver the story of Diablo and Sanctuary to so many different individuals.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: Tiffany, Matt, it’s clear now we have quite a bit to speak about between now and the launch of that collection and between 2029, so we’ll sit up for that.
However within the meantime, let’s speak about Diablo IV.
LINA MADRID: Okay, we’re right here in numerous outfits, too.
I raided the merch retailer.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: Yeah, I sweated by way of my earlier shirt.
LINA MADRID: All proper, Jeff.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: Sorry.
LINA MADRID: We’re right here to now discuss all issues Diablo IV, and becoming a member of us are Dan and Owen.
Welcome.
OWEN LEACH: Thanks a lot.
Yeah, nice to be right here.
DAN TANGUAY: Thanks for having us.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: We had been simply speaking with Tiffany and Matt and like kind of like reveling in like 30 years of Diablo.
And I’d must think about, their 12 months was quite a bit totally different than your 12 months has been.
They had been kind of toiling secretly.
Whereas I believe again to the Recreation Awards final 12 months, you dropped the Paladin, then you definately had the Highlight, after which the Warlock dropped, and Lord of Hatred, and it’s been like hit after hit after hit for Diablo IV gamers this 12 months.
Now you’re right here at BlizzCon, you get to take a look at the gamers within the eye, you get to see.
What are you seeing?
What are you listening to from them?
OWEN LEACH: Actually, it’s been nothing however optimistic.
They’re so excited simply seeing the gamers play the demo that we created and killed all of the Prime Evils in particular person right here at BlizzCon.
And it’s superior.
And the vitality within the room.
We had been on a panel not too long ago, and simply the vitality in that house was superior.
And it’s so thrilling.
We don’t get to work together with followers that usually, and to see all of them come collectively within the house with a standard curiosity, it’s superior.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
So, okay, now wanting ahead, you all simply introduced Season 15 for Diablo IV, and that’s referred to as the Season of Hell’s Legacy.
What are you able to inform us about Season 15?
And what can gamers anticipate leaping in as we speak?
DAN TANGUAY: Yeah, so Season of Hell’s Legacy, once we got here up with the idea, actually simply began merely as a celebration of 30 years of Diablo.
We realized that it was the thirtieth anniversary as of the thirty first of December.
And we knew there was going to be a BlizzCon.
And so we mentioned, all proper, it is a prime alternative for us to do one thing that may actually seize the historical past of Diablo.
And so with that in thoughts, we then mainly received to engaged on what it means to rejoice Diablo.
And so, in brief, Season 13 is a journey into the previous.
You get a information within the type of Deckard Cain.
He comes again from the lifeless.
And he comes again, although, with three Darkish Wanderers.
And they’re somebody you want to defeat and redeem.
And upon doing that, you’re capable of take the facility of the Prime Evils as your individual and begin wielding the powers of Darkish Wanderers your self.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: What a flashback it was.
We’ve the demo right here.
We received to play kind of like perhaps a sped up or a truncated model.
However listening to Deckard Cain’s voice originally, you actually hit the keep some time half.
I used to be transported again to my dorm room again within the ’90s once I first began taking part in.
DAN TANGUAY: That’s precisely what we’re going for.
I imply, it was actually necessary for us to get individuals to recollect these moments.
And hopefully we’ve captured lots of these moments that they do keep in mind within the season.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: I additionally keep in mind the half the place I received my ass kicked by Diablo [laughter].
Baal, no downside.
Mephistos, fairly good.
After which Diablo.
Nobody was standing over my shoulder, happily, to see me kind of crumble on that one.
However speak about taking the splinter of the facility.
I’d think about like with the great comes with the dangerous.
There’s a satan’s cut price in a literal sense.
DAN TANGUAY: I can speak about that just a little bit.
So if you defeat all the Darkish Wanderers, you extract the splinters of evil from them — consider these splinters as like echoes of soul stones.
And naturally, nothing good comes of these issues, proper?
However to be able to clear up the mess that’s been created, you want to wield that energy.
Let’s take the splinter of destruction for instance.
That’s a Baal splinter.
You’re taking that on, you unlock one among its signature powers, after which by way of leveling up the splinter, you’re ready then to degree up that energy, add totally different results to it, and form of get it into its final kind.
Effectively, that’s not the one factor you’re capable of do.
We don’t need it simply to be about energy.
So additionally as you might be leveling up the splinter, you’re capable of begin impacting the Conflict Plans bushes and also you’re capable of begin including modifiers to these.
So now the actions all through the endgame are additionally modified by your progress in Baal’s energy.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: So one of many issues we didn’t get an opportunity to do as a result of we’re right here is get to problem Mephistos.
By the way in which, love a great portmanteau.
So 10 out of 10 on that one.
Did I miss my likelihood?
Like, is that that?
OWEN LEACH: So no, really.
We’re tremendous happy with how he’s obtained.
He was within the BlizzCon demo.
He did the World Boss takeover.
And we didn’t wish to say goodbye fairly but.
So he’s in Season of Hell’s Legacy, you simply received to search out him.
So if I had been you, I’d take a stroll round Skovos, see what you discover, and perhaps observe that little breadcrumb, and perhaps you’ll see Mephisto.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: All proper.
LINA MADRID: Okay, attention-grabbing.
If we might identical to shift gears, look to the following 12 months.
You simply introduced a brand new class coming to Diablo IV within the first half of 2027, the Amazons, and with {that a} new weapon sort as effectively, the javelin.
That’s superior.
OWEN LEACH: Yeah.
LINA MADRID: So like what does the Amazon really feel like if you play as her?
DAN TANGUAY: So it’s nonetheless fairly early at this level, however what we’re aiming for with the Amazon first off is that the Amazon, she’s a soldier.
She is disciplined.
And that actually units her aside from lots of the opposite courses.
So that you’re going to get a really feel that’s deadly, however extremely managed, which is fairly cool.
If you throw the javelin into the combo, immediately you’ve received this soldier who has lots of versatility that a few of the different courses don’t.
You’re capable of assault at extraordinarily lengthy vary with a bow, clearly.
However with the javelin, you’re capable of assault mid-range and also you’re capable of swap between ranged and melee very, very simply.
One of many archetypes that we’re exploring proper now’s the concept of a skirmisher.
You’re nearly capable of go in, deal a bunch of assaults, come out.
And so that you get form of this stick and transfer form of really feel to the gameplay.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, we noticed a picture with the totally different archetypes.
That seemed superior.
There was a sword and defend.
There was the bow you talked about.
Might you form of go in just a little extra on?
DAN TANGUAY: Yeah.
So we received the ranger and the skirmisher, we simply talked about these.
And so the opposite two are literally totally new to the Amazon.
The subsequent new one is definitely referred to as the Champion.
And that is the concept that now we have given this Amazon a sword and defend.
She’s going to rise up shut, and she or he’s going to be fairly imply about it.
And so it’s not going to be just like the Barbarian.
The Barbarian could be very a lot about that unbridled rage, proper?
Once more, she’s very disciplined.
She calls her pictures and takes her pictures.
However she’s received some tips up her sleeves within the type of banners and issues like that that present extra help for her.
The opposite archetype is the commander archetype.
And this was one which we felt fairly strongly with.
After taking part in by way of Lord of Hatred, as I’m positive you might have, you bought to see all of the Amazons preventing collectively as squads and as battalions.
And we actually wished to seize that really feel within the character as effectively, stay as much as the promise that Lord of Hatred began.
And so with the Commander archetype, you might be actually fulfilling this promise of commanding Valkyries and commanding Vallochs and having the ability to battle collectively together with your sisters so as to have the ability to fight the enemy.
LINA MADRID: So is there any form of explicit ability or potential that you simply personally are like, sure, I really like this?
DAN TANGUAY: Yeah.
So Amazon was one among my foremost courses in DII.
And so I’m significantly thrilled to have the javelin come again.
As a result of, you understand, simply the emotional feeling of throwing a javelin into the air and having it remodel right into a bolt of lightning after which splitting aside and simply zapping everybody else, I believe, is one thing I’d actually love to do.
JEFF RUBENSTEIN: Effectively, Dan, Owen, thanks a lot for taking day trip to talk with us as we speak.
Let’s get you again out onto the present flooring and you’ll stand behind individuals as they’re taking part in and watch them fumble going through Diablo like I did.
And for the remainder of you all, who I’m positive are taking part in significantly better than I do, thanks once more for watching the Official XBOX Podcast.
We are going to see you on the following one.
