Diablo 5 is still years away, but its early reveal has already prompted close scrutiny from one of the action RPG genre's best-known developers. Chris Wilson, the former co-founder of Grinding Gear Games and a key figure in the creation of Path of Exile, has offered a cautiously positive assessment of Blizzard's newly announced sequel. His central takeaway is that the game appears to be drawing meaningful inspiration from Diablo 2--and that, in his view, is encouraging.
Blizzard announced Diablo 5 at BlizzCon 2026, with a planned Spring 2029 launch window. That leaves a long stretch between announcement and release, as well as plenty of unanswered questions about the game's systems, campaign, endgame, progression, and long-term live-service ambitions. Still, the material shown so far has given fans and fellow developers enough to begin examining the philosophy behind Blizzard's next major action RPG.
Wilson recently broke down the available information in a video covering the game's story, monster level approach, itemization, interface decisions, and classes. Though he identified elements he would handle differently, he came away with the impression that the franchise could be moving in a direction that better recognizes the enduring strengths of its earlier entries.
A Familiar Foundation, Updated for a Modern ARPG
One of Wilson's most positive observations concerned the character and inventory presentation. The early Diablo 5 interface appears to bring back items with varying physical sizes in the inventory, a characteristic feature of Diablo 2. For many players, the old grid-based system was more than visual flavor: item dimensions contributed to the feeling that gear had weight, identity, and a physical presence.
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That may sound like a minor detail compared with combat or the endgame, but UI and inventory decisions can reveal a great deal about an action RPG's priorities. A game where items occupy different amounts of space encourages players to consider their loot in a more tactile way. It can make a large two-handed weapon, a shield, or a piece of armor feel distinct before its statistics are even examined.
Wilson also responded favorably to stats that appear closer in spirit to Diablo 2. His reaction suggests that Blizzard's current direction may be less focused on simply repeating the structure of more recent games and more interested in recovering some of the texture that made the series' classic item hunt so compelling.
At the same time, Wilson did not endorse every modern element. He expressed dissatisfaction with the use of a flat DPS value on weapons. Such a number can offer clarity and immediate readability, particularly for less experienced players, but it can also flatten the process of evaluating gear. In games built around complicated stat interactions, breakpoints, attack speeds, scaling mechanics, skill synergies, and build-specific modifiers, a single headline DPS figure does not necessarily explain whether an item is actually valuable for a given character.
The tension between accessibility and depth is one Blizzard will need to resolve carefully. A weapon display that instantly communicates apparent power is convenient. Yet action RPG veterans often enjoy digging beneath a simple score to discover that an unusual item is ideal for a particular build, even when its first impression seems weaker than a more obvious upgrade.
Why Diablo 2 Cannot Simply Be Recreated
Wilson's broader point is not that Blizzard should make an exact modern copy of Diablo 2. In fact, he argued that doing so would be risky and likely unsuitable for the audience the series has cultivated over recent decades. The older game remains enormously influential, but some of its systems are undeniably clunky by present-day standards. A full return to that era's design conventions could appeal strongly to a dedicated niche while alienating players accustomed to smoother interfaces, clearer feedback, streamlined multiplayer, and more guided progression.
He described the likely destination as a modern action RPG that borrows heavily from Diablo 2, rather than a pure restoration of that game's design philosophy. That distinction matters. Borrowing from the past means identifying why systems worked--the sense of discovery, the importance of item affixes, the value of trade-offs, the atmosphere of danger--and translating those strengths into a game that can stand beside contemporary releases.
Blizzard is working with a series whose history carries unusually high expectations. Diablo 2 is frequently held up as a genre-defining loot game. Diablo 3 brought a much faster, more immediately readable style of play. Diablo 4 blended dark presentation, an open-world structure, seasonal content, and a new approach to character progression. Each of those games has supporters, and each represents a different answer to what Diablo should be.
For Diablo 5, the challenge will be deciding which parts of that legacy deserve to be combined and which should be left behind. An inventory grid alone will not guarantee meaningful loot. A darker presentation alone will not create tension. More classes alone will not ensure build variety. The game's underlying systems will need to make those choices matter across the campaign and the many hours players are expected to spend pursuing rare equipment and refining characters.
A Spring 2029 Target May Be Ambitious
Despite his favorable early reaction, Wilson expects the currently announced Spring 2029 launch target could slip. He stressed that delays are a normal reality of game development, drawing on his own experience of having to postpone Path of Exile league releases. From that perspective, a delay would not necessarily be alarming if it gave Blizzard the time needed to complete and properly test a game of this scale.
There is no indication that Blizzard has changed its stated target. Any prediction of a delay remains Wilson's personal expectation rather than confirmed information. But the possibility is easy to understand. Diablo 5 is being positioned as the next major entry in one of gaming's most prominent action RPG franchises. If it is intended to launch with more character classes than any prior Diablo game, the balance and production workload could be substantial.
Every additional class means more than a new visual archetype. It means unique skills, passives, resource mechanics, gear interactions, animations, progression options, and potential combinations with whatever multiplayer or endgame systems Blizzard ultimately adopts. Maintaining distinctive identities across a large class roster is difficult; ensuring that each remains viable and enjoyable through years of balance updates is harder still.
Wilson also suggested that a later release could allow Diablo 4 more time to develop. The announcement of a successor so far in advance has led some players to worry that Blizzard is preparing to move on from the current game. Blizzard has pushed back on that interpretation, and ongoing content plans point to continued support rather than an immediate winding down.
Diablo 4 Remains Active Ahead of the Sequel
Diablo 4 is expected to continue receiving seasonal updates over the next year and a half. Its latest season is built around the franchise's 30-year celebration and incorporates nostalgic material from the series' history. That approach has clearly found an audience, but Wilson was critical of one aspect of the event: the decision to bring the Prime Evils together in a special event rather than saving those confrontations for the ongoing story.
His concern is rooted in narrative momentum. If a game spends time suggesting that confronting major villains will be a meaningful long-term goal, presenting them all at once in limited seasonal content can make those confrontations feel less significant. It is an understandable criticism, especially for players who want Diablo 4's story to build toward landmark moments rather than treat them as detached celebrations.
On the other hand, anniversary content is often designed to celebrate a series' full history rather than advance one specific plotline. Blizzard will have to manage both goals: honoring the franchise's past while continuing to make the present game's world and narrative feel consequential.
Further Diablo 4 additions are also planned. Blizzard is set to add the Amazon class from Diablo 2 in a DLC pack early next year. The return of that class should be especially notable for fans of the older game, where Amazons could be shaped around bows, javelins, spears, and a mix of offensive and defensive abilities. Details on how the class will be adapted to Diablo 4 have not been outlined here, but its arrival reinforces the idea that Blizzard is still expanding the current game while preparing for its successor.
The Important Part Is Still Ahead
Early reactions to Diablo 5 will inevitably focus on familiar symbols: the visual tone, the item grid, returning design ideas, and the promise of a large class lineup. Wilson's response is useful because it recognizes both the value and the limits of nostalgia. He sees encouraging signs in Blizzard's willingness to look back to Diablo 2, but he does not believe the answer is to ignore everything the genre has learned since then.
For now, Diablo 5 remains a distant project with a stated Spring 2029 release target and many major details still to come. The game has time to change dramatically before launch. But if Blizzard can pair the intentionality and item-driven identity associated with its classic entry with the usability and flexibility expected from a contemporary action RPG, the early optimism may prove justified.
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