From the looks of it, the very first Diablo IV client has been pushed to Blizzard’s Vendor Content Delivery Network (CDN).
As spotted by Icy Veins, a build for project “Fenris” has been shipped to the Diablo IV CDN, and as revealed by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier back in 2018, Blizzard internally uses codename “Fenris” for its new Diablo installment.
“Fenris is, all of our sources have confirmed, the current incarnation of Diablo IV”, Schreier wrote. “Blizzard’s Team 3 has been working on this version of the game since 2016, and some who have seen it say they’re optimistic about the direction.”
The first client for Diablo IV, version 0.0.1.23041, was pushed to Blizzard’s CDN last Friday and is intended for GPU/CPU testing purposes.
In other Diablo IV related news – the second quarterly development update is planned to be released by the end of next month. When asked about a new update, the official Diablo Twitter account responded that the team is “aiming” for the “end of June”. Blizzard’s previous development update dates from February of this year.
Diablo IV was officially announced at BlizzCon 2019. Compared to Diablo III, the title will be much darker in tone and will include PvP zones. Be sure to check out the Ashava boss combat gameplay that was released last year. This gameplay also shows off co-op play.
“Sanctuary has been a home to Diablo players for more than 20 years, and it’s with our own deep passion for the series and a deep appreciation of the community that we announce Diablo IV today,” said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment upon the game’s announcement. “We’re excited to be returning to the dark, quintessential Diablo gameplay that players love while expanding the world and story in new ways, and we can’t wait for more people to be able to experience it.”
In Diablo IV, players will attempt to bring hope back to the world by vanquishing evil in all its vile incarnations—from cannibalistic demon-worshipping cultists to the all-new drowned undead that emerge from the coastlines to drag their victims to a watery grave. For the first time in the series, Sanctuary will be a contiguous, seamless landmass comprising diverse regions ranging from the burning desert of Kejhistan, to the verdant werewolf-infested forests of Scosglen, to the harsh and rugged wilderness of the Dry Steppes.
Blizzard has yet to announce a release date for Diablo IV.