Path of Exile co-creator and iconic Diablo 2 fan Chris Wilson is “tentatively hopeful” that Blizzard’s Diablo 5 will be a great ARPG.
Announced at Blizzcon earlier this year, Diablo 5 has been in some form of development since 2023, following the launch of Diablo 4. As Blizzard seeks to release Diablo games faster than before, the new ARPG is set to launch in 2029.
In a long-form video breaking down the announcement of the new game, Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson explained why they are looking forward to Blizzard’s next ARPG. As a long-time fan of Diablo 2 who didn’t enjoy Diablo 3 and Diablo 4, Wilson explained that they are eagerly awaiting the game’s release.
“I am tentatively hopeful for Diablo 5. I wasn’t expecting to be, but they’ve said enough for the magic works, and picked the right font for the logo. I have my fingers crossed that they’ll do a good job with it,” they said.
Wilson explained that they are “desperately hoping for Diablo 5 to be good”, although not just because they would like a new Diablo game to play. While Diablo 2 has been a major inspiration for Wilson’s career, the reality is that a successful new ARPG is good for everyone, and introducing more players to the genre is only a good thing.
The ARPG developer admits that a new Diablo would be “compete with other action RPGs I care about”, but believes “that’s a good thing”. He continued: “Having more action RPGs out there is good for everyone. You can tell that players are content starved. Even at the crazy pace that GGG releases new updates, players ravenously devour every new action RPG that they can.”
The reality is that Diablo 5, even with the baggage of prior entries, will be a major hit when it releases. While Diablo 3 and 4 both saw troubled releases, they were colossal, and the hype machine of Blizzard’s brilliant marketing will likely make the next game another big hit when/if it releases in 2029.
“Diablo 5 comes with Blizzard-level marketing and hype attached to it,” Wilson said. “If it’s good, then not only does Blizzard benefit, but every other action RPG developer does as well. It’s good for more people to hear about action RPGs. If Diablo 5 does really well, it’ll sell a lot of copies, and bring a lot of mainstream players into the genre. They’ll enjoy playing it and will be hungry to try out other games. A rising tide lifts all ships.”
There is also the hope that Diablo 5 will be closer to the pace and tone of Diablo 2. While the previous—or, I guess, still ongoing—game was pitched as a successor to the 26-year-old ARPG icon, the upcoming sequel’s procedural generation will at least be substantially closer to that vision compared to D4’s repetitive static offerings.
