Go ahead, this article is nothing more than the opinion of the person who writes these lines. There is no official confirmation, neither from Microsoft, nor from Activision-Blizzard, nor from Phil Spencer or any member of the Diablo IV development team. But based on some of the previous details and precedents that I’m going to tell you about throughout this opinion piece, I’m going to crack it because I think Diablo IV will be the first big exclusive title from Xbox’s recent acquisition.
In case you have been in a bunker for the past week or have been living in isolation for the past few days, I remind you that Microsoft announced the purchase of Activision-Blizzard, which includes all of its studios and IPs, such as Overwatch or Call of Duty. With that, once the acquisition is finalized in fiscal year 2023 (between July 2022 and June 2023), the games will become exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem (remember: Xbox Series X | S, PC and xCloud). And the first of these could be Diablo IV.
Exclusive Diablo IV: Theory, Certainty, and Precedents
But, on what basis do I make this statement or have this idea? Well, that might sound bold or risky, especially when only a week has passed since purchase. But let’s think about the Starfield case. A title announced long before the takeover of Bethesda and never announced on the launch platforms. One of the biggest showcases of the company and which in the end will be exclusive to Xbox. Something that was made abundantly clear at E3 2021, where the developer’s new title opened the show by showing us a new trailer and its release date.
Additionally, Starfield is also an important game, as it is Bethesda’s first new game in 25 years. Understanding a new game as a new IP, because titles, as such, have given us a few (and some pretty big ones, though they’re looked down upon now).
And what does Diablo IV have to do with Starfield, you might be wondering. And I’m going to tell you a lot. At least in terms of the development situation and the state of the project, since the title has been announced since 2019, at Blizzcon that year. And, surprise, it was never said on which platforms it will land, something that happened with Overwatch 2, revealed during this same event and which I confirm that it will be available on Xbox One, PS4 , PC and Switch and, we have a hunch, on Xbox Series X|S and PS5.
The less curious that after three years and several other trailers (class presentation all) and various news and quarterly updates (how can we see in your official site), we still don’t know where to play Diablo IV. Obviously, we have a hunch of it on PC, where the series has the largest playerbase. But what about consoles? Diablo III and Diablo II Resurrected have versions on Xbox and PlayStation, where they have been very popular, and it would be strange if they did not reach this type of hardware.
And that’s where the Starfield box comes in, which had the same base and wickerwork and will ultimately only land in the Xbox ecosystem (remember, it includes the PC). In this way, and although the comparisons are hateful, we can be faced with the same situation and that indeed, Diablo IV is the first major Activision-Blizzard exclusive on Xbox.
Anyway, I remind you that this is only the personal opinion of the person who signs these lines. A series of cabals based on the data we have and clear precedent, but that doesn’t mean it is. The same Blizzard announces in a few weeks or months that Diablo IV arrives at the end of the year with a multiplatform and intergenerational release. Or the same Diablo IV opens Microsoft’s E3 2022 conference and is announced as a new Xbox exclusive for 2023.
