Blizzard Addresses Diablo III Cross-Play Rumor

Update: Unfortunately, it looks like the Diablo III cross-play rumors weren’t true. In a statement to several outlets, including Comic Book, a Blizzard representative stated that “While we love the idea of bringing our players together across platforms, we do not have any plans to implement cross-platform gameplay for Diablo at this time.”

Original Story: It appears that cross-platform play could be coming to Diablo III at some point in the future.

Business Insider Australia asked about the feature while demoing Diablo III: Eternal Collection on Switch, and a Blizzard representative responded by saying “it’s a matter of when, not if.” According to their report, the studio is “actively working with partners at Sony and Microsoft to enable cross-console play” with the Switch version of the game.

Cross-platform play with PC players wasn’t mentioned, but it doesn’t seem likely. The PS4, Xbox One, and Switch ports have console-specific dodge and aiming mechanics, so Blizzard would probably have to keep them separate from the PC version for balance purposes. There was also no mention of character progression being shared between different platforms.

If Blizzard really is working to break down the barriers between Diablo III’s console players, it’s possible that cross-console play could end up coming to Overwatch as well. Back when the game launched in 2016, Blizzard mentioned that it would “keep an eye on cross-platform possibilities on the consoles.” The recent fervor around cross-platform play has been stoked by Sony’s move to enable the feature on select third-party PS4 games.

Cross-console play for Diablo III could be a major announcement at BlizzCon, which takes place on November 2-3 in Anaheim, California. The Diablo franchise is likely to have a massive presence at the convention in general, as speculation is running rampant that the series’ next installment will be revealed during the event. Fans are basing this on the fact that a 45-minute panel, titled “Diablo: What’s Next,” is scheduled to take place on the convention’s main stage immediately after the opening ceremony. In addition, the studio revealed in August that “multiple Diablo projects are in the works,” and that they would have more to show “later this year.”