Diablo V is a full sequel rather than a Diablo IV expansion, and executive producer Matt Zitterman explained why at the Diablo V panel at BlizzCon 2026. The decision came after the team looked at Diablo IV, “how it’s grown over the years in response to player feedback, and where we had ambitions to try something new.”
“It was that conversation that led us to start thinking about, do we do this as an expansion to Diablo IV, or do we do this as a sequel?” Zitterman said. “Sequels allow us to do something really special to a game, especially a long-standing game like Diablo, where we can get in and really change the fundamentals of what the game is. That’s really hard to do when you’re building on top of a game that’s been around for several years, has had several expansions and seasons.”
Those structural changes “were really necessary to chase the ambition that we had for the next phase of Diablo. We really needed to build a new game.” The team also wanted Diablo himself back in a Diablo game “for the first time in a long time,” with the depth Mephisto and Lilith were given. “We really didn’t want to tell Diablo no,” he said.
Zitterman said the team is building for every type of player, from those “here for the story and the vibes” to those who “grind bosses and find loot and min max their build.” What the fundamental changes are was not said.