30 Years Ago, Blizzard Released One of the Greatest Video Games of All Time, Defining an Entire Genre

Blizzard Entertainment has been on a pseudo-apology tour since the controversial announcement and release of Diablo Immortal in 2022 and the decision to makeOverwatch 2 a "sequel" of sorts in 2023 (which was reverted earlier this year). However, Blizzard seems to be back on its A-game with the rebranding of Overwatch, the new World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion, and the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4, a game that is part of a legendary franchise in gaming history.

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Diabloseries. The original Diablo game was released back in December 1996 on PC and quickly made its way into players' hearts and helped define the entire ARPG genre that we would come to know well today. The Diablo series is focused on an addictive loot grind through randomly generated dungeons.

Players can pick from a variety of classes (Sorcerer, Rogue, and Warrior being the original three classes in the first game) and create builds around certain powers, kill tougher bosses, get better loot, and repeat, always searching for legendary drops.

The original Diablo, according to Metacritic, is currently sitting at an impressive 94 metascore (though there are not very many scores for a game this old). Adrenaline Vault (which is no longer in operation) wrote, "About as close to Hell as you're going to get - whether you believe in it or not. Everything about this game just rules, and it will blow you away. The gameplay is the easiest I've ever come across in an RPG, which is just fantastic."

Diablo's replayability, build variety, tight gameplay, and dark tone have resonated with players for 30 years. Diablo consistently ranks as one of the greatest games ever made and is widely regarded as the title that popularized APRGs.

Game Informer ranked Diablo as the 20th greatest RPG ever made, and its sequel, Diablo 2, as the ninth greatest RPG ever made.

Since the first game, Blizzard has released Diablo 2 (which also got a remaster for modern consoles and PCs back in 2021), Diablo 3, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo 4. The newest expansion to Diablo 4, Lord of Hatred, will be released on April 28, 2026, as part of the 30th anniversary celebration.

In September this year, Blizzard will also be reviving its massive fan event, BlizzCon, which has had inconsistent showings since the COVID-19 Pandemic, but now appears to be back in full force.

If the Lord of Hatred expansion delivers for fans, Diablo might be on the way to claiming its legendary status once again--30 years later.