Diablo 2 remaster coming to consoles, Blizzard makes dreams come true

It's official: Diablo II is getting remastered, but the core gameplay remains exactly the same.

Diablo II Resurrected is fulfilling something I've always wanted: Diablo II on consoles. The remaster was announced during Blizzcon 2021 and is coming to current- and next-gen consoles, including the Nintendo Switch. Cross-progression is also a thing, but that was always implied if you play online anyway and connect to the Battle.net servers. The great thing is you can transfer your saves to another platform and then play that platform offline.

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We don't know much about the console port, however. A recent Diablo II Resurrected deep dive with Blizzard revealed some details on controller interactions. The skills can be mapped to face buttons, similar to Diablo 3, but we don't know how item selection will work on consoles.

Here's what D2R lead designer Rob Gallerani said during the stream:

"I can't say it was easy. To say it wasn't a challenge would be a bold lie. So there's a couple things for the most part. Our the game thinks you're still using a keyboard and mouse with a controller. That was almost a rule we kept. That helped keep us on the rails because we didn't want to be sacrificing once again the authentic experience, but we did want to make it more accessible and bring it to a modern audience.

"I mean there are people who were born after this game came out that we want them to enjoy it and play it. A lot of those people are used to you know, just more modern titles that could use a controller.

"Also from an accessibility standpoint of just allowing you to plug in a controller (into a PC) helps for many other people to get to enjoy the game.

"The biggest thing I think that we are adjusting, the two big things: one is you're changing the way you play the game from being kind of an eye in the sky and telling your hero what to do by clicking on areas to actually being your character and directing them. So pathfinding is gone, right because you're doing the pathfinding and things like that which creates some very interesting things. For example, the Sorceress is teleport is meant to teleport to wherever you click. So in that area when you're playing on the console, we will have a kind of a default distance that you will teleport to whereas on the PC you can click wherever you want."

Diablo II resurrected is due out sometime in 2021, and will cost $39.99 across PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Check below for more information:

A Timeless Classic, Resurrected

Diablo® II: Resurrected™ is a remastered version of the quintessential action RPG Diablo® II. Pursue the mysterious Dark Wanderer and fight the denizens of hell as you uncover the fate of the Prime Evils Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, now in up to 4K (2160p) resolution on PC. Diablo II Resurrected features:

• Remastered graphics-monsters, heroes, items, spells, all resurrected.
• An epic story told through five distinct acts.
• Classic gameplay-the same Diablo II you know and love, preserved.
• Updated Battle.net support.
• Planned support for cross-progression-take your progress wherever you play.

... and much more!

The Lord of Destruction Returns

Diablo II: Resurrected includes all content from both Diablo II and its epic expansion Diablo II: Lord of Destruction®. Battle your way through icy caverns, horrific tombs filled with undead abominations, and frozen wastelands to the frigid summit of Mount Arreat and stop Baal, the Lord of Destruction. Raise hell with two Lord of Destruction playable classes-the cunning Assassin, master of traps and shadow disciplines, and the savage Druid, a bold shapeshifter and summoner who commands primal elemental magic.