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Blizzard Entertainment has officially announced a remaster of its seminal 2000 game, Diablo II.
The announcement was made during the first day of this year’s all-digital BlizzCon event on Friday night (February 19). The remake is dubbed Diablo II: Resurrected, and will release later this year. A firm release date has not been announced.
Diablo II: Resurrected will retain the original game’s play style, but will introduce enhanced graphics, including up to Ultra High Definition 4K (2160p) support on PC. Resurrected will include the base game and its expansion, Lord Of Destruction.
The game will release on PC – and for the first time, consoles including the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Nintendo Switch. Cross-progression support is also being planned.
In order for the cross-progression feature to work, players will have to create a linked Battle.net account, with separate purchases of Diablo II: Resurrected for each supporting platform that they wish to play on.
The remaster will also trade in the original game’s 2D sprite-based graphics for “full 3D physically-based rendering, dynamic lighting, revamped animations and spell effects”, according to a press release.
Additionally, all of the game’s 27 minutes worth of cutscenes and cinematics are “being remade – shot for shot – from the ground up”. The game’s soundtrack has also been updated to support Dolby 7.1 surround sound.
Players can now opt in for an upcoming technical Alpha test, although further details remain unannounced at this time. Players can also pre-purchase the game now, however, Blizzard emphasises this will not include access to the aforementioned Alpha test.
News of a remaster or remake of Diablo II first made its way onto the internet earlier this week when a Twitter user leaked a number of announcements expected to be made during the show.
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