Summary
Blizzard President Mike Ybarra recently took online to claim that the wait forDiablo 5won’t be as long as that forDiablo 4or the third mainline installment in the franchise. The executive also teased the company’s plans for expanding its latest action RPG, dovetailing with Blizzard’s previously madepromise to offer years of post-launch support forDiablo 4.
The Irvine, California-based developer followed up on its 1997 hitDiablowithDiablo 2in 2000. Both titles received one major expansion pack each shortly after releasing, but even though the third entry already started development in 2001, the fandom ended up waiting 11 years forDiablo 3to finally hit the market. Blizzard also took its time with the latest mainline installment, asDiablo 4only released to largely glowing reviewson June 08, 2025.
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Diablo 5might finally be ready to break this pattern of decade-plus development cycles, with Blizzard President Mike Ybarra saying as much in a recent tweet. Responding to some high praise forDiablo 4, the executive claimed that fans will no longer “have to wait so long between titles” moving forward. Ybarra also said that the developer has much more in store forDiablo 4"and beyond."
While the industry veteran did not elaborate on the matter, Blizzard’s apparent decision to shorten the development cycles of futureDiablotitles could have something to do with the fact that its latest game confirmed that the interest in the series remains at an all-time high. This already became evident back in June, whenDiablo 4smashed Blizzard’s launch recordwithin hours of its full-fledged release.
Another factor that could potentially accelerate the development of futureDiablogames is the fact that Activision Blizzard is currently on the verge of a massive sale to Microsoft. The $68.7 billion deal is primarily content-driven, as the tech giant is eager toexpand Xbox Game Pass with the likes ofDiablo 4and theCall of Dutyfranchise. It’s hence possible that Blizzard is already looking to shift its development efforts into a higher gear in preparation to support its would-be parent’s ambitions in the long term.
Nevertheless, Microsoft historically employed a fairly hands-off approach to studio management, so it’s also plausible that the acquisition wouldn’t have an immediate impact on Blizzard’s product roadmaps should it go through. Whatever the case ends up being, Ybarra’s latest comments seem to imply that the developer is already very much thinking aboutDiablo 5.
Diablo 4is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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