Diablo 4 Will Release In A New, Massive Market Soon

Diablo 4 will finally release in China following governmental approval by China’s National Press and Publication Administration.

As spotted by Wowhead, Diablo 4 was one of just seven foreign-made games to be approved in July by the government agency, with 127 Chinese-developed titles also approved. That brings the total number of foreign games approved to release this year in China to 62.

While the number of approved foreign games has increased in recent years due to the approval process now occurring monthly instead of every two months, there was a period from July 2021 to March 2022 when no new games were approved for release. Last month, China approved a record 158 new games for release–a multi-year high according to Chinese news outlet Yicai Global.

It’s a big win for Blizzard, which re-partnered with Chinese gaming giant NetEase in 2024 to re-release games like World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2 in China following licensing disagreements that saw many Blizzard’s titles, including WoW, go offline in the region for most of 2023 and some of 2024. It was during this period when many Blizzard games were unplayable in China that Diablo 4 released globally in June 2023.

Blizzard and NetEase have not yet announced an official release date for Diablo 4 in China, but when it does arrive, it will likely include a number of changes from the version the rest of the world plays. Previous Blizzard games in China have operated on their own separate, region-locked clients and servers and often receive region-exclusive events and cosmetics.

The Chinese versions of Blizzard games often bring various content changes in order to conform to Chinese government regulations. In the case of Diablo 4, that will likely mean less gore, fewer skeletons, and the removal of certain religious references. One thing is for certain, the Diablo 4 Necromancer and their skeletal minions will almost certainly look different in the Chinese version.

In other Diablo 4 news, Blizzard seems poised to bring big changes to its flagship ARPG, as content creators were recently treated to a secret glimpse of the game’s future. As for everyone else, Diablo 4 Season 9 is currently ongoing, with a new expansion slated to release next year.