Blizzard announced that they will be releasing Diablo 2 Resurrected later this year.
Diablo 2 Resurrected is an HD remaster of Diablo 2 that will feature the option to play with 3D assets and will come with a number of quality of life changes. According to the BlizzCon 2021 presentation, you will also have the option to play Diablo 2 Resurrected in the original 2D graphics.
"We want to bring this game into 2021 but it should still be the exact same gameplay experience people had all those years ago, just with a solely visual update," explained Diablo Developer Matthew Cederquist. "This is meant to be that same title people enjoyed those years ago. There are updated things, but nothing that will change the fundamentals of the game."
The new title will include remastered versions of both the original Diablo 2 and its expansion Lord of Destruction. The game is coming to both PC and consoles, with full controller support. It will even feature cross-progression for consoles that support it. Whenever you make a character online, you will be able to link them to your Battle.Net account, which will let you access your characters across your PC and consoles.
The Diablo developers were very keen on communicating how carefully they handled any changes and alterations to the original gameplay experience. During the press conference following Blizzcon 2021's opening ceremonies, the Diablo developers repeatedly reassured journalists that none of the changes should impact gameplay or the story itself.
"Anytime we asked 'is that too much [change with this feature]' we made the feature optional," Developer Robert Gallerani explained. "If you don't like auto-pick up, for example, you can just turn it off."
Among the quality of life changes, there are included a number of accessibility improvements.
"When we talk about modernization, accessibility is part of that," the developers explained. "We added low vision mode, a color-blind mode, more languages, and controller support gives a lot of people more functionality."
Unlike with the Warcraft 3 remake, the new version of Diablo 2 will not replace your old version.
"We decided to keep the 200 version of Diablo 2 in its own ecosystem." Explained Gallerani. "Players who want to keep playing the original game, because they want to play a cool mod or just like that version, they can do that. The Diablo 2 Ressurection will exist in its own ecosystem."
The new game is set to cost $39.99 across all platforms and should be available later in 2021.
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Aaron is an esports reporter with a background in media, technology, and communication education.
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