Celebrate 20 Years of Diablo in Hearthstone and Other Blizzard Games
Want to feel old? On the last day of this year, it will have been a full two decades since the original release of Diablo. Want to celebrate? For one, you can join a special tribute event in Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.
Diablo was first released on Dec. 31, 1996. This means that this Saturday — Dec. 31, 2016 — marks the 20th anniversary of the wildly popular action role-playing hack-and-slash video game. To commemorate this milestone, the game’s publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, is set to roll out special events and items in some of its best-known games, including the mobile collectible card game Hearthstone.
In Hearthstone, the tribute to 20 years of Diablo will come in the form of a special Tavern Brawl, where, according to Blizzard, “a hooded stranger awaits, holding a grim deck in his hands.” “Will you unravel the secrets surrounding this dark wanderer?” Blizzard further teases.
Blizzard is celebrating twenty years of Diablo, and our other games are joining in the fun! Get the details: https://t.co/9vUubwu4Ya pic.twitter.com/xaConH7nrg
— Diablo (@Diablo) December 28, 2016
Apart from Hearthstone, tributes will be featured in Diablo III, the multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm, the team-based multiplayer first-person shooter Overwatch, the military sci-fi strategy game StarCraft II, and the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.
In Diablo III, a tribute event dubbed The Darkening of Tristram will let you relive the experience of your first play-through of the original Diablo with a reimagined version of the original cathedral along with the appearance of some familiar items.
In Heroes of the Storm, there will be a new Diablo-themed portrait to be won in a new brawl map. In Overwatch, there will be in-game sprays representing Diablo III classes and a new player icon based on the likeness of the Lord of Terror.
Speaking of the Lord of Terror, you can also get him in the form of a Diablo-themed worker portrait in StarCraft II. And you can expect characters from Diablo to cross over into World of Warcraft.
Of course, since they’re being offered in celebration of Diablo’s 20th anniversary, these special events and items will be available for a limited time only. So be sure to check Hearthstone and the other participating games on or around Dec. 31 to access them as soon as they’re out.
Download Hearthstone for iOS
Learn more about the update