Diablo 4 is coming to Steam, four months after its initial release. Previously, the only way to buy it was via Blizzard’s own Battle.net, but now it’s heading to Valve’s storefront.
The news was announced during October’s Diablo 4 Developer Update video, which also delved into the game’s second season, Season of Blood. Diablo 4 will be hitting Steam on October 17th, the same day that Season 2 launches.
So, how is the Steam release likely to change things? It should mean an influx of new players for a start, and if you remember Diablo 4’s launch-day troubles, that might make you a little nervous. When it launched on June 5th, after a four-day early access period, the game’s infrastructure buckled under the strain. Given that Diablo 4 has no offline mode, that left some players unable to access the game they’d paid for.
As the Steam listing underlines, you will need a free Battle.net account to access the game, though there’s no mention of a third-party app. If the Steam version of Overwatch 2 is anything to go by, you’ll have to link your Steam account to your Battle.net account, but you won’t need to install the launcher.
The real question is whether Blizzard is ready for the user feedback to roll in. One of the most notable things about Steam is the visibility of its user reviews and Overwatch 2 is not having a good time of it. Let’s hope Diablo 4 fares better.
If you are thinking of diving in for the first time when Diablo 4 arrives on Steam, be sure to take a look through our extensive collection of guides to help you come to grips with what to expect.
