Here's What Blizzard Has Planned for the 20th Anniversary Of Diablo

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2016 is the 20th anniversary of Diablo one of the most popular PC series ever. One wouldn't expect that Blizzard would let such a milestone go without doing something, but we didn't expect what they actually did. During the Diablo portion of the BlizzCon keynote it was announced that the original Diablo would become a playable part of Diablo III thanks to an upcoming update.

The update will be called The Darkening of Tristram and it will include a 16 level deep dungeon containing all four of the main bosses from the first game. To be clear, this will not be an updated version of the first game, but a tried and true recreation of the original title. Special graphics filters will reduce the resolution to that of the first game, what was jokingly called "retrovision" during the presentation. The original music would also be used. In one final touch, character control during this portion of the game would be limited to the eight directions of a keyboard number pad, rather than giving you full 360-degree control.

The update will be going live on the Diablo III test server next week.

In addition to the planned update this year, it was also announced that next year will see a couple of additional updates. Owners of the Reaper of Souls expansion will get access to two new zones Shrouded Moors and Temple of the First Born.

Finally, the prayers, pleads, and begging of the Diablo III fan base has finally been heard by Blizzard. The Necromancer was officially announced as a new character who will be added to the game next year as part of a larger character pack.

While most will have to wait until next year to play as the new character, those attending BlizzCon will be able to play as the Necromancer this weekend.

With a game franchise that has been around for 20 years, the fact is that many fans of Diablo III may have never played the original game. While clearly fans of the first game will certainly enjoy dipping their toe back into the original title, it will be interesting to see whether newer fans enjoy playing the older style game, or decide that those old people who played it 20 years ago were living in the stone age.

Will this new content get you back into Diablo III? Let us know in the comments.

Dirk Libbey
Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.