Diablo II

Diablo II
Cover art depicting the Dark Wanderer by Gerald Brom
Developer(s)Blizzard North
Publisher(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Director(s)David Brevik
Erich Schaefer
Max Schaefer
Producer(s)Mark Kern
Kenneth Williams
Designer(s)David Brevik
Erich Schaefer
Max Schaefer
Programmer(s)Rick Seis
Artist(s)Phil Shenk
Writer(s)Kurt Beaver
Stieg Hedlund
Matthew Householder
Phil Shenk
Robert Vieira
Composer(s)Matt Uelmen
SeriesDiablo
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, OS X
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
Classic Mac OS
  • WW: July 26, 2000
OS X
  • WW: March 11, 2016[4]
Genre(s)Action role-playing, hack and slash[5]
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Diablo II is an action role-playing hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and OS X. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror themes, was conceptualized and designed by David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, who, with Max Schaefer, acted as project leads on the game. The producers were Matthew Householder and Bill Roper. The game was developed over a three-year period, with a crunch time of a year and a half.[6]

Set shortly after the events of Diablo, the player controls a new hero, attempting to stop the destruction unleashed by Diablo's return. The game's four acts feature a variety of locations and settings to explore and battle in, as well as an increased cast of characters to play as and interact with.

Building on the success of its predecessor, Diablo (1997), and improving the gameplay, both in terms of updated character progression and a better-developed story,[7] Diablo II was one of the most popular games of 2000[8] and has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. Major factors that contributed to the game's success include its continuation of popular fantasy themes from the previous game and its access to Blizzard's free online play service, Battle.net.[9] An expansion to the game, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, was released in 2001.[10]

Diablo III, the sequel to Diablo II, was released on May 15, 2012. Diablo II: Resurrected, a remastered version of Diablo II which also includes the Lord of Destruction expansion, was released on September 23, 2021.

  1. ^ Hicks, Clint (June 28, 2000). "Diablo II Ships, Blizzard Posts Patch". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Dennis, McCauley (July 27, 2000). "Diablo II: A successful mix of action and role-playing genres". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 55. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "New Arrivals". Games Market. Archived from the original on July 6, 2000. Retrieved April 16, 2024. Order Diablo 2 out 6/7/2000
  4. ^ Years Later, Blizzard Releases a New Diablo II Patch Archived April 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine by Brian Ashcraft on kotaku.com (3/11/16)
  5. ^ "Inside Mac Games News: Diablo III: Timeline, Expanded RPG Elements, iTunes D3 Music". Insidemacgames.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  6. ^ Wawro, Alex (March 18, 2016). "20 years later, David Brevik shares the story of making Diablo". Game Developer. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  7. ^ Desslock. "Gamespot Diablo II Review" Archived March 2, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  8. ^ Madigan, Jamie. "GameSpy.com – Reviews" Archived May 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, GameSpy. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  9. ^ Walter, Barbara (November 28, 1997). "Battle.net Defines Its Success: Interview with Paul Sams". Game Developer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  10. ^ "Battle.net - English Forums -> Patch 1.13d Now Live". Blizzard. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2011.

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