Diablo 5 Forging the Next Era Panel: Everything Announced (Updating Live)
· IGN
BlizzCon 2026 came with a lot of surprises, but few were as big as the Diablo 5 reveal – and we're about to learn even more.
Yes, in case you missed it, Blizzard Entertainment is working on Diablo 5. The fifth entry in its massively popular dungeon-crawler video game series is set to bring players to a ruined Sanctuary in spring 2029, but the news doesn't stop there.
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"The heroes are gone, Sanctuary has fallen, and Diablo has won," Blizzard's Joe Shely said today. "For the first time, you won't be fighting to stop Diablo from taking Sanctuary. You'll enter a world where he already has. There are no towns, no safe places waiting to protect you."
The Diablo team is ready to reveal even more about the next big installment in the franchise with its BlizzCon 2026 Forging the Next Era panel. All we know so far is that the team plans to take viewers "inside the fallen Sanctuary." That means updates on how it's "evolving the world, classes, and the story for Diablo's next era."
We're going to round up all of the highlights from the Diablo 5 panel for you right here, so be sure to refresh this page when it begins at 1:45 p.m. PT / 4:45 p.m. ET. You can also check out everything announced during the BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony right here.
The Diablo Team Takes the Stage
Multiple members from the Diablo team have taken the stage at BlizzCon 2026. After the surprise reveal for Diablo 5, it's clear the developers have a lot to talk about. Shely said the plan is for the panel to cover the story, world, gameplay, and even some information about itemization.
"We're a loing way from the campfire, from its comfort and hope. These are the fires of Diablo. Sanctuary has been destroy, and Diablo has won," Shely said.
A New Diablo
Producer Matt Zitterman said, when deciding how to approach more Diablo, Blizzard first had to decided whether to do more DLC or another mainline entry. When looking at Diablo 4 and an opportunity to bring back the true Diablo, a proper sequel with Diablo 5 is the only thing that really made sense.
"Once we decided that this game was goingt to bring Diablo back, we knew we had to do it right," narrative director Jennifer Brandes Hpler said. "He couldn't just be a final boss. He needs to be a boss that's shaping this game from it's opening moments. That's how we decided that, this time, you're not scrambling to shape Sanctuary before Diablo tries to take it over."
Shely added that Diablo "has a lot more to say" in this game. Don't expect Diablo to have some tragic backstory in Diablo 5, though.
Blizzard also confirmed terrain will change when players return to certain areas. Procedural worlds are also coming back with Diablo 5.
"That idea of not knowing what's around the corner creates a lot of tension," senior producer Tiffany Wat said. "So, in Diablo 5, we're bringing back the procedural world, both in the dungeons and the overworld. So, if you go back to a region that you've been before, all that information knew yesterday - that path that I found, that landmark that I was moving toward, how to fight those Elite monsters - none of that is information is going to help me today."
Diablo fans know Treasure Goblins to be "loot pinatas," but in Diablo 5, one character will change that. Wat teased Zarg, a new character and a Treasure Goblin that players will grow to know. His name's not final and neither are his character details, but he's yet another sign that Blizzard is shaking things up for its next big installment.
First Diablo 5 Classes Confirmed
Shely teased some of the classes coming to Diablo 5. The Demon Hunter and Monk are two returning classes coming to the game. New classes are coming, too, including the heavily armored Plague Knight, which will see players spreading disease and consuming power. That's all he was willing to tease today, but he did say that Diablo 5 will launch with more classes than any other entry than ever before.
"I don't just mean just more classes than any Diablo game at ship," he elaborated. "I mean more classes total. The thing about Diablo classes is they're approchable - you can jump in and immediately have an exciting time playing them - but there's also deep ARPG mastery there and a multitude of builds to explore."
Itemization in Diablo 5
Diablo 5 is still very early in development, so how it handles itemization is still being put together. However, the team was willing to share a sneak peek at concept art for what things look like in this stage of work. Gear-based sets are coming back, with Shely also confirmed that there will be multi-slot items.
"I like to think of itemization kind of like a city," Shely said. "Think about New York City; It's an enormous metropolis, you can immediately go to Time Square and immediately find something cool. That's kind of how I think about our set up. Once you really start to dig in and master it, you learn where's the best deli, where's the best pizza, and you really get into that crunchy opportunity to define your own builds. That's what we want to do in D5."
This is more from Diablo 5 many likely expected to see, but Blizzard doesn't want fans to be overwhelmed by the image they see here. Shely teased that they've got some "really great solutions for any controller players who might be worried about manipulating those items."
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