The official release of Diablo IV has come, with players descending into Sanctuary to take on the denizens of Hell. Blizzard is celebrating not jus the launch of the game itself, but its new record-setting pace as the fastest selling game in the company's history.
While Diablo IV has been playable since last Friday for those who purchased the $100 Ultimate edition, the ARPG officially launched today. In a press release today, Blizzard states that since its early access launch four days ago, "93 million hours" have been played by gamers, a staggering number when you put it into the perspective Blizzard does: "the equivalent playing 24 hours a day since the beginning of human civilization."
Blizzard also notes in the press release that Diablo IV had the "highest pre-launch unit sales ever on both console and PC," though it stops short of giving actual, tangible numbers here. Chances are, though, this will be reflected in the MAUs in the next quarterly report. Blizzard states that this claim is based on sell-through figures from reporting by third-party sellers and Blizzard's own internal reporting.
Diablo IV is set 50 years after the events of Diablo III, and it makes some big changes to the format, namely injecting some MMO elements into the ARPG. You can check out our full coverage in our Diablo IV review-in-progress. If you're already itching for more Diablo IV, rest assured the journey doesn't stop with the main release, as Blizzard has confirmed it has two expansions already in production. And if you're a new player, check out our 15 Diablo IV tips to know before heading into Sanctuary yourself.
