Diablo series | |
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Original Diablo logo
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Genres | Action role-playing, hack and slash |
Developers |
Blizzard Entertainment Synergistic Software (Hellfire expansion) Climax Group (PlayStation version co-developer) |
Publishers | Blizzard Entertainment Sierra Entertainment |
Platforms | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One |
Year of inception | 1996 |
First release |
Diablo December 31, 1996 |
Latest release |
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls March 25, 2014 |
Diablo is an action role-playing hack and slash dungeon crawler video game series developed by Blizzard Entertainment (and Blizzard North). As of May 30, 2012[update], the series has sold over 24.8 million copies worldwide. The series is made up of three core games: Diablo, Diablo II, and Diablo III. All three games are action role-playing and hack and slash games. Expansion games include the third-party published Diablo: Hellfire, which follows the first game, Lord of Destruction, published by Blizzard and released after the second game, and the recently released Reaper of Souls, which follows the third game. Additional content is provided through story elements explored in other media forms. To celebrate Diablo's 20th anniversary, the original game was going to be recreated in Diablo III in late 2016.
The series is set in the fantasy world of Sanctuary. The three games in the series take place in similar geographic areas, with several common areas including the town of Tristram and the region around Mount Arreat. Additional setting is provided by the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, two separate realms with ties to Sanctuary. The series focuses on the battle between the humans living on Sanctuary and the Prime Evils, demons who are led by Diablo, the series' chief antagonist. The humans are occasionally aided by angels, notably the archangel of justice, Tyrael. The characters in the world of Sanctuary are primarily humans, angels, and various classes of demons and monsters.
The series has resulted in the publishing of several books relevant to the Diablo setting, covering a wide range of the timelines of the universe. There are also comics that explore various stories within the world of Sanctuary.
Diablo is set in the world of Sanctuary, created by the Archangel Inarius for angels and devils weary of conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells. When unions between Angels and Demons created powerful beings called nephalem, the archdemon Lilith sought to raise these creatures as her servants and rule Sanctuary, leading to her banishment and the destruction of most of the nephalem. When Lilith returned, a farmer named Uldyssian-ul-Diomed stopped her by destroying the cults of both Inarius and Lilith, sacrificing himself to protect the world.