Blizzard has announced that Diablo IV is coming to steam in just a couple of weeks.
Arriving on October 17, Diablo IV is the second Blizzard game to arrive onto Valve's Steam platform. This comes two months after Overwatch 2 made its Steam debut on August 10. Diablo IV coming to Steam isn't surprising since the original Overwatch 2 announcement stated a "selection" of games would be coming to the service.
The addition of Diablo IV to steam is also the date that Season 2 arrives bringing a new Questline, Vampiric Powers, 5 additional endgame bosses, and more. If you want to wishlist Diablo IV on Steam, the game's page is already up. Do note that unlike Overwatch 2 which is free-to-play, Diablo IV is a paid game so if you are already playing on the Battle.net launcher, you would have to buy the game again if you want to play through Steam.
What Blizzard game do you think will be coming next to Steam?
Quote From Blizzard The gates of the Burning Hells have opened once more, welcoming more of Lilith’s children home.
Diablo IV is a game about slaying nightmarish creatures and acquiring powerful gear, but also about forging memories with new and old friends. We want to break down barriers to make it easier for wanderers everywhere to defend Sanctuary.
Which is why we’re honored to announce…Diablo IV will be available to play on Steam starting October 17! The Diablo IV Steam page is live now, and the game is available to wishlist.
Diablo IV’s presence on Steam is in addition to Battle.net, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4, so wanderers playing the game on any existing platform need not make any changes. Those wanting to play on Steam will need to first purchase the game on that platform, then connect Diablo IV to a Battle.net account (as we require for all platforms). This enables cross-platform play and more. Players using Steam will have access to features specific to that platform, such as Steam achievements, their Steam friends list, and the option to invite those friends to play in-game. We’re looking forward to seeing more defenders of Sanctuary band together and welcome any feedback you may have.
The timing of Diablo IV’s launch on Steam couldn’t be better! It coincides with the release of Season of Blood, our second Season, which introduces a new Questline for you to uncover, Vampiric Powers to wield with terrifying lethality, 5 additional endgame bosses, and more. To get a full overview of the upcoming Season of Blood, visit this article or catch up on our Developer Update Livestream that occurred today.
Comments
I have a feeling this move to Steam is also due to the Netease/China debacle that happened in January this year. Blizzard definitely lost a big region and lots of revenue from the breakup. It's funny seeing the majority of the Overwatch Steam reviews are in Mandarin.
Also wouldn't be surprised if D4 is review bombed as well even after all the good changes coming in Season 2.
Hearthstone would make sense, as having it pop up in "playing now" notifications of friends might remind potential new or returning players of its existence.
I guess all their games will make the move eventually: despite Overwatch 2's review bombing, they still went ahead with Diablo IV. So there must be significant upsides as well, either in terms of more players or the amount of money they save by not having to keep developing the Battle.Net client.
Its possibly just to take advantage of steam's higher exposure. Im sure they have the data since CoD is practically a yearly event at both platforms. I would be surprised if steam sales dont massively outdo those at battlenet's.
After all, steam charges a percentage for each sale. If they're willing to part with some cash its likely that the data overwhelmingly favors steam as a platform.
As for hearthstone being in steam. Its more than likely, since its a (theoretical) FTP game. Though I dont expect there to be much takers, the market for card games (or psuedo card games) being fairly saturated at this point.
Youre not actually playing it via steam right? Still need battlenet to actually play the game?
If I understood the article correctly, you still need a Battle.Net account, but not the Battle.Net launcher.
It will work just like Overwatch 2 where it requires that you link your Steam and Battle.net accounts so yes, an account is required but no launcher. Certainly frees up the hassle of extra programs running in the background.
Well I hope Hearthstone is next because I really don't want to install any shitty Microsoft clients to run it once Microsoft takes over. It will also be interesting to see how well Hearthstone is standing by looking at the activity data. It could either promote the game if the numbers are decent or shoot its own leg if the numbers are underwhelming.
And gifting bundles could become a lot easier