'Diablo 4' Is Live Now In Early Access — Here's Everything You ...

Diablo IV is almost here.

Credit: Blizzard

Updated 6/1/23 and 6/2/23. See update below.

Diablo IV is almost here, with the game heading into a short Early Access period prior to its June 5th/6th launch next Tuesday—just one week from now! After several exciting beta weekends, this is shaping up to be a mega-hit for Blizzard and one of the biggest game launches of 2023.

Diablo IV is the long-awaited entry in Blizzard’s classic action-RPG series that began nearly three decades ago with the original game’s launch in 1996. It’s been 11 years since the launch of Diablo III. This game is much darker and feels more true to the series grimdark fantasy roots. It also introduces horseback riding.

Players play as one of five classes (so far, more will be added): Necromancer, Rogue, Sorceress, Barbarian, and Druid. The game is being treated as a “live-service” title, with content releasing across seasons including new classes, locations and even a battle pass.

Here’s everything you need to know about the game’s Early Access launch.

How To Get Early Access To Diablo IV

In order to gain entry into the Diablo IV Early Access period, you’ll need to pre-order the Digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition of the game on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5 or PS4. Once you’ve pre-ordered, you’ll gain access to the game the moment it launches into Early Access.

What Time Does Early Access Begin?

Depending on where you live, Diablo IV Early Access will begin on June 1st or 2nd. Here are some star-times:

June 1st @ 4pm PDT June 1st @ 7pm EDT June 1st @ 8pm BRT June 2nd @ 12am BST June 2nd @ 1am CEST June 2nd @ 8am KST June 2nd @ 9am AEST June 2nd @ 11am NZST

Diablo IV Early Access Start Time By Region

Credit: Blizzard

Pre-loads for the game on all platforms are already live.

Early Access will be the full game with the entire game and all content available the same as when it launches.

When Is The Full Launch?

The full global launch of Diablo IV will take place on June 5th and 6th depending on your region, and mirrors the exact same times as Early Access:

June 5th @ 4pm PDT June 5th @ 7pm EDT June 5th @ 8pm BRT June 6th @ 12am BST June 6th @ 1am CEST June 6th @ 8am KST June 6th @ 9am AEST June 6th @ 11am NZST

Diablo IV is fully cross-play and cross-progression across all platforms, though you’re required to have a Battle.net account. See you in hell!

Update — The Reviews Are In!

The game is now live! Blizzard has launched the long-awaited sequel to 2012’s Diablo III at last!

Here’s Blizzard’s description of the game:

Diablo® IV is the ultimate action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, through beautifully dark settings, or explore a shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle world bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players.

How Is Diablo IV reviewing at launch?

The game is reviewing quite well with critics. Currently it’s rated 88/100 on review aggregation site Metacritic on PC. It has a 92/100 on Xbox Series X and an 87/100 on PS5.

PCGamesN’s Lauren Bergin gives Diablo IV a 10/10 writing:

Diablo 4 is the Diablo game I’ve been needing – in fact, I’d argue it’s the best Diablo game of all time; a statement that’s controversial, I know. It’s the alluring shadow, the ragged whisper in the wind; it’s quintessentially Diablo in every way. Hail Lilith, oh denizens of Sanctuary, Diablo is back.

Our own Paul Tassi gives the game a 9/10 and writes:

My impressions are overwhelmingly positive based on what I’ve experienced so far, from the map to the gameplay to the new systems to even the story, which I was not expecting. Blizzard really seems like it’s nailed this, and I’m going to say the only way this will be poorly received at launch is if technical issues kill people’s ability to play. But once it gets rolling? Yes, I think you’re going to like Diablo 4.

The lower-end scores aren’t that low, either. LevelUp’s Luis Sanchez gives the game a 7/10, noting:

Diablo IV remained stuck in the past while trying to find innovation without generating friction with fans who have played the franchise for over two decades; It feels like the ghost of Diablo Immortal continues to haunt the halls of Blizzard. The game is more of a reinvention of the classic experience, focusing on a games-as-a-service format to ensure another decade of content for Diablo. Update #2 Server Success Story, Mostly

Diablo IV

Credit: Blizzard

As we approach the launch of any big online game, I’m always ready to write a story about disaster. This is because, historically speaking, big online games like Diablo IV launch badly. Just looking at Activision-Blizzard, we can point to two recent launches of major titles that crashed and burned at launch:

Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 launched to such high demand that even getting through the server queue and having a chance to login at all could take hours. YouTuber Dunkey made a pretty hilarious video about this:

When Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II launched last November, it was so frustrating I briefly uninstalled the game. I have never had a AAA game crash on me so many times. Matchmaking was a disaster. The UI was (and remains) unintuitive. It was a mess.

Both these games are doing fine now. I play them both regularly and enjoy them a great deal, but their launches were anything but stellar.

Diablo IV has—miraculously—bucked that trend. Perhaps desperate to avoid the grim Error 37 days of Diablo III, or even the frustrations around Overwatch 2, Blizzard managed to pull off a nearly-perfect launch, at least on PC.

On PS5, gamers faced the dread “Unable to find a valid license for Diablo IV (Code 315306) error.” This meant that you had purchased the game, but on the PlayStation side of things, it looked like you didn’t. The fix for this? Buy some in-game currency (Platinum) in the PlayStation Store and you’ll be able play. It’s a fairly dystopian work-around, but at least it’s not an intentional way to get you to spend more money. We hope.

It appears a handful of Xbox players have experienced the same issue, but by and large this is a PlayStation problem. Just one more reason to play this game on PC, where it’s meant to be played.

Blizzard is aware of this issue, however, and will update players when it’s resolved. No fun for people who pre-ordered and planned to play all weekend, though!

This is the Early Access period, so it’s very possible that other issues will arise by the time the game launches for real next week. But it appears the two Betas and the final Server Slam beta really did—for the most part—make this a much better launch than anyone expected.

What have your experiences with Diablo IV been so far? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.