Blizzard confirms Diablo 5 won't gloss over Diablo's takeover of Sanctuary — 'It's not going to take place entirely off-screen' | Tech Radar

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Blizzard confirms Diablo 5 won't gloss over Diablo's takeover of Sanctuary — 'It's not going to take place entirely off-screen'

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Senior game director Joe Shely confirms Diablo's victory won't take place completely off-screen in Diablo 5

He says, "You're going to get to learn more in the game about how these events took place"

Narrative director Jennifer Hepler teases the bond the player has with Diablo and "how that affected his ability to come in and have this victory is something that unfolds over the course of the story"

Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that Diablo 5 players will get to see how Diablo conquered Sanctuary, despite how the game starts.

If you missed the major announcement at Blizz Con 2026, the next era of the long-running series is now in development and kicks off a new story that takes place after Sanctuary has already been conquered by Diablo.

"Diablo has conquered Sanctuary, a stepping stone to invading the Heavens. Now from the throne of Westmarch, he wields Sanctuary's people and souls as weapons in the Eternal Conflict," the description reads. "Diablo is no longer a distant threat waiting at the end of the journey. He is present from the moment Diablo V begins, shaping the story, the world, and your path through it."

Players take the role of the Heir of Westmarch, a fugitive with a mysterious connection to Diablo as they build a caravan of allies and travel across the scorched wastes.

Tech Radar Gaming caught up with the development team after the game's announcement to ask about the decision to start the game after Diablo has already taken over Sanctuary.

Diablo 5 senior game director says the game will tell 'three stories,' including the past, the present desolation of Diablo's takeover, and the future 'terror forming' of Sanctuary

Diablo 5 announced and fully embraces bleakness, defeat, darkness, and hopelessness for Sanctuary, as Blizzard also confirms Diablo 4 is coming to Switch 2

Diablo 5's Sanctuary has become 'an outpost of hell' where 'humanity has fallen into ruin' which paints an incredibly bleak picture that I can't wait for

It's probably a question many fans have had since watching the trailer, but according to senior game director Joe Shely, Diablo's victory won't take place completely off-screen.

"I think as we get the opportunity to share more about the game, we'll be able to sort of fill out how that works a lot more," Shely said. "One of the things about a game like Diablo, any RPG, is that you have this power progression from starting off small and becoming this powerful character. And so, in the opening of the game, you know you're on the run. Westmarch has burned. Diablo is sitting on the throne, and then as you travel through the world, you're going to get to learn more in the game about how these events took place, and it's not going to take place entirely off-screen."

Narrative director Jennifer Hepler also teased the campaign, saying, "There will be dramatization of how exactly Diablo came to power, but also there's going to be a lot of story behind his rise that is you finding out is a big part of the narrative of the game."

The developer teased that the story starts when the player finds out they can go into Diablo's terror realm and come out alive, "which nobody else can do," and finding out these answers will be a significant part of the story alongside how he came to power.

"Finding out why you can do that, what other powers you have, what this bond is between you and Diablo, and how that affected his ability to come in and have this victory is something that unfolds over the course of the story, and makes every victory that you achieve over him and his minions very, very personal," Hepler said.

Diablo 5 is in development and is slated to launch in Spring 2029.

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Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at Tech Radar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as Game Spot, NME, and Games Radar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.

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