Reception

0:13 Diablo 4 was well reviewed and sold fast: critics gave the base game a Metacritic score of 86 on PC and PlayStation 5 and 91 on Xbox Series X, and OpenCritic's Top Critic Average is 88, while Activision Blizzard called it "Blizzard Entertainment's fastest-selling game of all time", with more than $666 million in sales in under a week after the Jun 6, 2023 launch. Players have been harder to please. Season 1's patch angered them, the shop and the always-online design drew lasting criticism, and the base game's Steam user reviews read "Mixed": 65% positive of 80,188 on Oct 20, 2026. The second expansion, Lord of Hatred (Apr 28, 2026), was received as a high point: it scores 84 to 86 on Metacritic, PC Gamer gave it 90, and IGN's video review says the expansion had to give players "a reason to become hopelessly lost in its loop-filled grind once again" and has "done exactly that thanks to a tight, satisfying campaign, two new classes" and an endgame "so loaded with things to do". The game itself is on Diablo 4.

Quick facts

Launch reviews

Critics liked the 2023 launch. Metacritic's scores, read Oct 20, 2026, are 86 on PC from 96 critics, 86 on PlayStation 5 and 91 on Xbox Series X ("Universal Acclaim"), and OpenCritic's Top Critic Average is 88, with 92% of critics recommending it from 180 reviews. Activision Blizzard listed the launch week's scores: IGN and Push Square gave it 9/10, GameTyrant and TechRaptor 9.5/10, and Gaming Trend, CGMagazine and Windows Central 10/10, praising its cutscenes, story and dark style.

Sales and players

Activision Blizzard said on Jun 12, 2023 that Diablo 4 had passed $666 million in sales in its first five days, counting units and dollars sold through on all platforms, more than the worldwide box office of every horror film released in 2023 combined. Its first week counted 276 million hours played since early access, 317 million player deaths, and No. 1 on Twitch from Jun 1 to 9. More than 10 million people played it in June 2023, according to Activision Blizzard's second-quarter report. Blizzard has published no lifetime sales figure for Diablo 4 since, as of Oct 21, 2026. A revenue figure of over $1 billion that circulated in Sep 2024 came from a developer's LinkedIn profile, not from Blizzard (VG247). At BlizzCon 2026 Blizzard counted "more than 130 million players" across the whole Diablo franchise, not Diablo 4 alone.

Steam numbers

Diablo 4 reached Steam on Oct 17, 2023, and Steam counts only its own players, not Battle.net, consoles or Game Pass. Valve's API showed 13,965 players on Steam at 18:21 UTC on Oct 20, 2026, five weeks into Season of Hell's Legacy. Press quoting SteamDB reported 5,429 concurrent players in its first hours on Steam (80 Level, Oct 19, 2023), a 24-hour peak of 34,310 in Season 4 (Dexerto, Jun 7, 2024), and 59,061 after Lord of Hatred, its highest since the Steam launch (Icy Veins, May 3, 2026).

Steam's user reviews are harsher than critics. On Oct 20, 2026, Valve's review API counted the base game "Mixed" at 65% positive of 80,188 reviews, Vessel of Hatred "Mostly Negative" at 27% of 3,207, and Lord of Hatred "Mixed" at 70% of 1,118.

Season 1 and the recovery

The goodwill of launch did not last the summer. Patch 1.1.0, released on Jul 18, 2023, two days before Season of the Malignant, weakened classes broadly and drew a strong backlash. Blizzard held an unscheduled Campfire Chat on Jul 21, 2023 with game director Joe Shely, admitting "it feels bad to take away power" and promising: "Moving forward, we will take a more surgical approach." It also restated that "Diablo IV was always meant to be a capped power experience and not an endless grind." The recoveries came with Season 4: Loot Reborn (May 14, 2024), which rebuilt the item system and brought Steam's record at the time, and Vessel of Hatred's base game changes in Oct 2024. The seasons are on Seasons and the team's side of the story on Development.

24:03 By BlizzCon 2026 responsiveness had become a point of pride. On the What's Next panel, the host noted changes to Mythic items arriving "week after week" in response to community feedback after Lord of Hatred's launch, and the developers answered that "it's really important for us to listen to the community and be responsive".

The expansions

Vessel of Hatred (Oct 8, 2024) was received more coolly than the base game: Metacritic shows 84 on PC, 82 on PlayStation 5 and 81 on Xbox Series X. Its Steam page now sells the whole Age of Hatred Collection, and its Steam reviews are the lowest of the three (Vessel of Hatred).

1:12 Lord of Hatred did better. IGN's review, published Apr 21, 2026, praises its cutscenes but says "the writing and pacing of this short and sweet eightish hour campaign" stands "as some of Blizzard's best work yet", with "twists, turns, and tragedies, references to deep Diablo lore". OpenCritic records IGN's score as 8/10. PC Gamer scored it 90, saying it "revolutionized what it's like to play Diablo 4" and calling the campaign possibly its "favorite Diablo campaign". Metacritic shows 84 on PC from 56 critics, 85 on PlayStation 5 and 86 on Xbox Series X, and OpenCritic 83, with 88% recommending it from 81 reviews. The expansion is on Lord of Hatred.

3:25 Reviewers singled out the two new classes. IGN calls the returning Paladin "pure nostalgic comfort food" with "loads of protection abilities", and prefers "the new hotness of the Warlock", which ranges from Necromancer-like summoning to a Vanguard build that turns the player into a demon. It liked the reworked skill trees too, though it wished they went further (Paladin, Warlock).

11:25 The main complaint was co-op. IGN calls War Plans' handling of parties "a pretty fatal flaw": each player's playlist is randomized, so a player tagging along with a friend sees "a fragment of the rewards they get" and makes progress on their own plan only when the next activity happens to match, "a massive oversight". Blizzard's What's Next panel later moved War Plans progression to the whole Realm in Season 15 (War Plans).

Awards

Diablo 4 won Online Game of the Year at the 27th D.I.C.E. Awards on Feb 15, 2024, and was a finalist for Role-Playing Game of the Year. "Lilith (Diablo IV Anthem)" by Halsey with Suga of BTS topped iTunes charts in more than 70 countries, Activision Blizzard said.

Criticism

Four complaints recur. The first is the shop: at launch MP1st found a Necromancer armor set at about $28 and a horse at about $15 (Battle Pass and Shop). The second is the 1.1.0 nerfs. The third is that Diablo 4 must always be online, on every platform, a complaint raised again when the Switch 2 port arrived (FRVR, Sep 2026). The fourth is rough season starts: Season of Hell's Legacy began on Sep 15, 2026 with a temporary delay and a login problem before a hotfix (Nintendo Life).

On Switch 2

The Age of Hatred Collection (the base game and both expansions) came to Nintendo Switch 2 on Sep 15, 2026, and Metacritic shows 83 for it, read Oct 20, 2026. FRVR called it "a pretty solid port" but said that having no offline mode "sours the experience". Platform details are on Platforms and Crossplay.

Frequently asked questions

Is Diablo 4 good in 2026? Critics say Diablo 4 is at its best in 2026: its Lord of Hatred expansion scores 84 to 86 on Metacritic, PC Gamer gave it 90 and IGN 8/10, though the base game's Steam user reviews remain "Mixed" (65% positive on Oct 20, 2026).

What is Diablo 4's Metacritic score? Diablo 4's base game has a Metacritic score of 86 on PC and PlayStation 5 and 91 on Xbox Series X; Vessel of Hatred scores 81 to 84 and Lord of Hatred 84 to 86 (read Oct 20, 2026).

How many people play Diablo 4? Blizzard has not published a current Diablo 4 player count. On Steam alone, Valve's API showed 13,965 players at 18:21 UTC on Oct 20, 2026, and Activision Blizzard said more than 10 million people played in June 2023.

How many copies has Diablo 4 sold? Blizzard has published no unit total for Diablo 4. Activision Blizzard said it made more than $666 million in sales in its first five days in June 2023, Blizzard's fastest-selling game.

What are Diablo 4's Steam reviews? Diablo 4's Steam user reviews were "Mixed" on Oct 20, 2026, 65% positive of 80,188; Vessel of Hatred was "Mostly Negative" (27%) and Lord of Hatred "Mixed" (70%).

Is Diablo 4 dying? No sign of it from Blizzard: Diablo 4 reached its highest Steam player count since its Steam launch after Lord of Hatred in 2026 (59,061, as press reported from SteamDB), and Blizzard says it will support the game "for a very long time" alongside Diablo 5.

Did Diablo 4 win any awards? Yes. Diablo 4 won Online Game of the Year at the 27th D.I.C.E. Awards on Feb 15, 2024.

Sources

• Diablo IV, Metacritic, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, Metacritic, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, Metacritic, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection, Metacritic, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV, OpenCritic, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, OpenCritic, read Oct 21, 2026
• Diablo IV earns more than $666M in sales in first five days, setting a new Blizzard record, Activision Blizzard, Jun 12, 2023
• Diablo 4 had 10 million players in June, Insider Gaming, Jul 19, 2023
• Diablo 4 one billion microtransactions revenue breakdown, VG247, Sep 16, 2024
• Diablo's Next Era Revealed at BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremonies Recap, Blizzard, Sep 12, 2026
• Diablo IV user reviews, Valve, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred user reviews, Valve, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred user reviews, Valve, read Oct 20, 2026
• GetNumberOfCurrentPlayers for app 2344520, Valve, read Oct 20, 2026
• Diablo 4 debuts on Steam with 5,429 concurrent players at launch, 80 Level, Oct 19, 2023
• Diablo 4 peak player count on Steam in Season 4, Dexerto, Jun 7, 2024
• Diablo 4 player count explodes to new record on Steam, Icy Veins, May 3, 2026
• Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred review, PC Gamer, Apr 21, 2026
• The D.I.C.E. Awards 2024 winners and finalists, Shacknews, Feb 15, 2024
• Diablo 4 latest 1.1.0 patch nerfs met with backlash, PiunikaWeb, Jul 19, 2023
• Catch Up on the Season of the Malignant Campfire Chat, Blizzard, Jul 21, 2023
• Diablo 4 cosmetic items are ridiculously overpriced, MP1st, Jun 2, 2023
• Diablo 4 on Nintendo Switch 2 is a pretty solid port, but no offline sours the experience, FRVR, Sep 2026
• Diablo IV's 30th anniversary celebrations get off to a bumpy start, Nintendo Life, Sep 2026
• No more Diablo 4 expansions are planned, but there's a lot of room for more storytelling in the leadup to Diablo 5, PC Gamer, Sep 12, 2026
• Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred Review, IGN, Apr 21, 2026 (video)
• Diablo IV | What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026, Diablo, Sep 13, 2026 (video)