Blizzard says Diablo 5 will show how Diablo took Sanctuary: 'It's not going to take place entirely off-screen'

Senior game director Joe Shely told TechRadar Gaming after the announcement that the studio will explain the events that put Diablo on the throne of Westmarch. "I think as we get the opportunity to share more about the game, we'll be able to sort of fill out how that works a lot more," Shely said. "One of the things about a game like Diablo, any RPG, is that you have this power progression from starting off small and becoming this powerful character. And so, in the opening of the game, you know you're on the run. Westmarch has burned. Diablo is sitting on the throne, and then as you travel through the world, you're going to get to learn more in the game about how these events took place, and it's not going to take place entirely off-screen."

Narrative director Jennifer Hepler described how that history will be handled in the campaign. "There will be dramatization of how exactly Diablo came to power, but also there's going to be a lot of story behind his rise that is you finding out is a big part of the narrative of the game," she said. Hepler added that the story begins when the player discovers they can enter Diablo's terror realm and return alive, "which nobody else can do." She said the answers to why that is possible form a major part of the plot. "Finding out why you can do that, what other powers you have, what this bond is between you and Diablo, and how that affected his ability to come in and have this victory is something that unfolds over the course of the story, and makes every victory that you achieve over him and his minions very, very personal," Hepler said.

According to the game's official description, Diablo has conquered Sanctuary as a stepping stone to invading the Heavens, and from the throne of Westmarch he wields the realm's people and souls as weapons in the Eternal Conflict. The description states that Diablo is no longer a distant threat waiting at the end of the journey, but is present from the moment the game begins, shaping the story, the world and the player's path. Players take the role of the Heir of Westmarch, a fugitive with a mysterious connection to Diablo, who builds a caravan of allies and travels across the scorched wastes.

Diablo 5 is in development and is slated to launch in Spring 2029.