4. Diablo V The World
Johanna Faires: So that seems like a very different Sanctuary from the one we know today. What can players expect from the world of Diablo V?
Tiffany Wat: One thing that’s always been really special about the Diablo experience is that every gameplay session is a journey. And there’s an element of unexpectedness that I think is quintessentially part of that Diablo experience. And the story that we’re trying to tell in Diablo V really lends itself to this idea that every time you enter in, the world looks a little bit different, and you don’t know quite what to expect. As Jennifer mentioned, we’re entering a world where Diablo has won.
It’s been seven years since he’s conquered Sanctuary. And he and his Dread commanders, their corruption and their influence has really spread throughout Westmarch, and they’re actively reshaping the land as we know it. And affectionately on the team, we love a good pun on the Diablo team, we call that terror-forming. And how this plays out is every time you return to the same point, the same region that you’ve been to before, it’s going to look a little bit different. Those Dread commanders that Joe was talking about, they really twisted and corrupted that land. So the landmarks that you see, the monsters that you’re running into all of that terrain, it’s going to be a little bit different.
And well, I’m a planner. I really like to know what to expect beforehand. I was researching how does the parking situation works at BlizzCon for weeks before I got here, and that makes me comfortable. I want to know what to predict in life. But when it comes to games, it’s the complete opposite, right? I want to lean into the unknown because that’s what’s fun. That idea of not knowing what’s around the corner is what creates a lot of tension.
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 have been before, all that information that I knew yesterday, that path that I found, that landmark that I was moving towards, how to fight those elite monsters, none of that information is going to help me today.
And the only thing beyond the fog of war are more questions. And that’s really exciting to me. Joe often talks to his team about the importance of constant discovery, that you should never really feel safe because as he mentioned, all the towns are gone and Sanctuary is just a brutal place to be. And so John and his team have really taken that idea of the Dread Commanders, of that corruption that Diablo is bringing, and it’s been really awesome seeing what he’s doing to the world.
John Mueller: We have three visual stories, we talk about on the art team. And the way we see this world, and the art team is having so much fun, like doubling down on darkness and what that means for Diablo V. We talk about the past. And the past is where it’s everything that has been lost. And we get to tell all these really rich stories with Jennifer’s team, and working with the designers hand in hand to really fill the world with what has gone on since the last 100 years, especially the last seven years since Sanctuary fell. And there’s this sort of life after people. And what does it really mean to have this desolate vision of Sanctua
The second lens that we look through is the present. And this is where evil has touched the world. This is where the Dread Commanders have come through, and it’s like the forest fire has burned, and what’s left. And it’s where the art team especially gets to have a ton of fun because this is where all the really weird, dark stuff happens where the Dread Commanders have affected the world of Sanctuary.
And then lastly, the future. This is what we’re trying to prevent. This is, like, hell breaking through and each of the Dread Commanders has their own unique look and their own exciting, like, visual theme that they apply to the world. And this is really dynamic and cool, and I think everybody’s gonna really enjoy seeing just these three distinct stories and very clear about what we’re doing.
Johanna Faires: So that all feels really personal, like not as much rebuilding a kingdom, but this visceral survival one day at a time. How does that shape the way players should navigate the world?
Matt Zitterman: This is, personally, one of my favorite parts of the game is how do we represent a town or a place of safety in a world where Diablo has already won, and there literally is no safe place? And so, we started thinking about this problem; the idea that really stuck with us is the idea that the player is the point of safety.
You and your band of followers are the kind of last remains of humanity and kind of the light in the darkness of Sanctuary. So in Diablo V, you’re gonna go on throughout the campaign; you’re gonna be bringing your caravan, your traveling band of wagons and followers with you throughout the world.
And everywhere you stop, there’s gonna be a new part of the world to explore, and as you move through the world, meet new survivors, and that caravan’s gonna grow. They’re gonna become your merchants, your craftspeople, and your companions. And we’re gonna be able to tell much deeper stories about these characters that come with you through the journey with your caravan.
One of the reasons this most excited me when I joined the team, when we started talking about this idea, is it reminded me so much of the Rogue Encampment in Diablo II. Yes, the Rogue Encampment stays in one place. It doesn’t move, but it has this vibe; it sets the tone of the whole game of humanity just eking out a corner of safety among all of this terrible stuff.
And the campfire at the center of it kind of representing in a lot of ways that hope of humanity, and when your characters walk out the characters’ select screen, and they approach the campfire, and it just gives you this sense of this is humanity here around the campfire in this last bastion against evil. I think that our caravan in Diablo V is really going to take that to the next level.
Johanna Faires: So in Diablo V, it’s as though your vendors are literally traveling with you. That’s a really dramatic shift.
Tiffany Wat: Yeah, so in prior Diablo games, you would go town to town, and there would always be, conveniently, a blacksmith there, as an example, waiting to help you out it would be Bob 1, Bob 2. But in Diablo V, all the towns are destroyed. There are not a lot of survivors left. And so when a blacksmith chooses to join your caravan, well, he’s going to be Bob Prime. Jennifer tells me that that name is not final.
Jennifer Brandes Hepler: No, that’s not canon now.
Tiffany Wat: And you’ll get to know this character and understand how he survived so far, and why he’s choosing to join your caravan. I think Blizzard has done such a great job over the decades creating these really memorable characters. I know there’s a lot that has resonated with me. I’ve named a cat Jaina. I’ve named a cat Deckard Cain. I have dogs named Bastion and Sigma. So clearly, these characters, they mean a lot to me and a lot of the players that are out there. And Jennifer and her team have been doing an incredible job coming up with our new cast of characters for the caravan. And one that we’re really excited to talk about, his name is Zarg. So I don’t know if that name is final either, but maybe don’t name any pets that yet.
Matt Zitterman: Maybe more final than Bob Prime.
Tiffany Wat: Maybe more final. So Zarg, he’s a treasure goblin, and I think we as Diablo players all have a love-hate relationship with treasure goblins. We all have a story about how you’re out there slaying monsters, minding your own business. You see a treasure goblin show up on your minimap, and you throw your entire strategy out the window. You can chase them all the way across the map, and sometimes you’re successful; sometimes you’re not. Hopefully, you aren’t playing in Hardcore.
But in Diablo V, you’re going to get the chance to know a treasure goblin as more than just a loot piñata for once. And what’s awesome about Zarg is, well, he’s a demon, and he is motivated by treasure. That’s what he loves. And I don’t really know if you can trust demons, but as you’re playing through the campaign, you are going to get the opportunity to know Zarg, why he is joining your caravan, what his backstory is, what he’s done to survive so far, and what his role is in helping you potentially defeat Diablo. And I think that we can trust Zarg, right Jennifer?
Jennifer Brandes Hepler: Absolutely trust Zarg because he totally understands that you are much easier to steal from than Diablo. So like Tiffany was saying, the caravan is a huge part of the way that we balance this darker world with making it a world worth saving. So there are no normal civilians left, which means you’re never going to run into a quest giver standing at the side of the road waiting to ask you to do them a favor.
Instead, your caravan characters become the source of all of your side content. And every one of them is an interesting, multifaceted person who you chose to bring into your caravan, into your life. And the quests that they give you are part of their personal story. And so every side quest that you do in this game is important. It matters, because it matters to someone who matters to you.
Or as I like to shorthand it, the real hell is the friends you make along the way.
| BLIZZCON 2026 DIABLO V: FORGING A NEW ERA PANEL TRANSCRIPT | ||||
| 1. Intro | 2. Story | 3. Art | 4. The World | 5. Classes |
| 6. Itemization | 7. Characters | 8. Environment | ||
