Diablo 4 is reportedly launching in April 2023

Diablo 4 will reportedly release in April 2023, and preorders for the game will open in December, according to a new report.

Window’s Central claims that the game is slated for release in April 2023, and that preorders for the game, which will grant players access to a beta, possibly in February, will go live in December during The Game Awards.

We reported earlier this year that an alleged internal Activision document, which correctly revealed the release dates of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0, listed The Game Awards as the beginning of Activision Blizzard‘s promotional push for the game. The Game Awards 2022 take place on December 8.

Diablo 4 has been running several private betas, most of which have been friends and family only. However, this hasn’t stopped large portions of the beta from being streamed online. 

As more information on the game has been released, the game’s director and associate game director have consistently stressed that players won’t be able to spend real money to upgrade their character’s abilities.

Players will start with a new character every season, shifting the Diablo franchise towards a live service model. It’s understood that there will still be microtransactions of some kind, but they won’t be tied to player progression following the poisonous reaction to Diablo Immortal.

Diablo Immortal was released on June 2 on iOS and Android, and as an open beta on PC, but quickly saw a negative reception for its heavy focus on microtransactions.

In June, Diablo Immortal gained the dubious honour of having the lowest user rating in the history of Metacritic.

This included a report published during the game’s opening weekend that calculated that it could cost players up to $110,000 to fully upgrade a character in the game.