Diablo 5 Forging the Next Era Panel: Everything Announced

Blizzard has revealed three classes for Diablo 5, a first look at its UI, and shown off even more as part of its Forging the Next Era panel at BlizzCon 2026.

The next Diablo game might be years away from its spring 2029 launch, but that didn't stop some members of the development team from confirming the first details. Highlights from the 45-minute panel include confirmation that the Demon Hunter and Monk are two returning classes, but a new class is coming too: the Plague Knight.

Concept art, gameplay details, and more were all revealed as part of the big panel presentation. Blizzard also talked about why it decided to make the announcement now, almost three years before launch. We gathered all of the highlights for newcomers and die-hard fans to comb through right here. You can see everything announced at the Diablo 5 BlizzCon panel below.

The Diablo Team Takes the Stage

Multiple members from the Diablo team have taken the stage at BlizzCon 2026. After the surprise reveal for Diablo 5, it's clear the developers have a lot to talk about. Shely said the plan is for the panel to cover the story, world, gameplay, and even some information about itemization.

"We're a long way from the campfire, from its comfort and hope. These are the fires of Diablo. Sanctuary has been destroyed, and Diablo has won," Shely said.

A New Dark Lord

Producer Matt Zitterman said, when deciding how to approach more Diablo, Blizzard first had to decide whether to do more DLC or another mainline entry. When looking at Diablo 4 and an opportunity to bring back the true Diablo, a proper sequel with Diablo 5 is the only thing that really made sense.

"Once we decided that this game was going to bring Diablo back, we knew we had to do it right," narrative director Jennifer Brandes Hpler said. "He couldn't just be a final boss. He needs to be a boss that's shaping this game from its opening moments. That's how we decided that, this time, you're not scrambling to shape Sanctuary before Diablo tries to take it over."

Shely added that Diablo "has a lot more to say" in this game. Don't expect Diablo to have some tragic backstory in Diablo 5, though.

"Pretty quickly we kept arriving at the same conclusion: Diablo is Diablo. He is the Lord of Terror," senior producer Tiffany Wat said. "He's not redeemable. He's not misunderstood. That gave us a lot of clarity, so the question now becomes not 'Is he right?' but 'What happens now that he's won?'"

Returning to Westmarch

Shely teased that returning to Westmarch will see players confronting a place that has become an "outpost of Hell." That means very few humans have not bowed to the Lord of Terror or become cultists, with some humans even turning to become Dread Commanders, which harness the power of the Dukes of Hell.

Blizzard also confirmed terrain will change when players return to certain areas. Procedural worlds are also coming back with Diablo 5.

"That idea of not knowing what's around the corner creates a lot of tension," Wat said. "So, in Diablo 5, we're bringing back the procedural world, both in the dungeons and the overworld. So, if you go back to a region that you've been before, all that information knew yesterday - that path that I found, that landmark that I was moving toward, how to fight those Elite monsters - none of that is information is going to help me today."

Diablo fans know Treasure Goblins to be "loot pinatas," but in Diablo 5, one character will change that. Wat teased Zarg, a new character and a Treasure Goblin that players will grow to know. His name's not final and neither are his character details, but he's yet another sign that Blizzard is shaking things up for its next big installment.

First Diablo 5 Classes Confirmed

Shely teased some of the classes coming to Diablo 5. The Demon Hunter and Monk are two returning classes coming to the game. New classes are coming, too, including the heavily armored Plague Knight, which will see players spreading disease and then consuming it for power. That's all he was willing to tease today, but he did say that Diablo 5 will launch with more classes than any other entry than ever before.

"I don't just mean just more classes than any Diablo game at ship," he elaborated. "I mean more classes total. The thing about Diablo classes is they're approachable - you can jump in and immediately have an exciting time playing them - but there's also deep ARPG mastery there and a multitude of builds to explore."

Itemization in Diablo 5

Diablo 5 is still very early in development, so how it handles itemization is still being put together. However, the team was willing to share a sneak peek at concept art for what things look like in this stage of work. Gear-based sets are coming back, with Shely also confirmed that there will be multi-slot items.

"I like to think of itemization kind of like a city," Shely said. "Think about New York City; It's an enormous metropolis, you can immediately go to Time Square and immediately find something cool. That's kind of how I think about our set up. Once you really start to dig in and master it, you learn where's the best deli, where's the best pizza, and you really get into that crunchy opportunity to define your own builds. That's what we want to do in D5."

This is more from Diablo 5 many likely expected to see, but Blizzard doesn't want fans to be overwhelmed by the image they see here. Shely teased that they've got some "really great solutions for any controller players who might be worried about manipulating those items."

Why Announce Diablo 5 Now?

All of the words shared by the Diablo team during the Forging the Next Era BlizzCon 2026 panel are all fine and good, but some fans may be worried that, with years to go until launch, there's no telling what the final product will look like. Zitterman promised that Diablo 5 is a game they hope to build alongside the community, which is why we're learning about it years before its planned launch.

"I think for us it's super important that Diablo 5 feels unmistakably Diablo, in particular for our longtime players," Zitterman said. "That starts with what I talked about at the beginning: Understanding who are Diablo players at their core? What do they want, what do they need, out of a Diablo game?"

He continued: "When you're building a game, you need other people to look at your work and give you that critical feedback. We want to get that feedback now. We want to get that feedback as early as possible. It's why we're announcing today. It's why we're excited to bring the community into the process of making the game along the way toward our launch date."

Zitterman signed off the news portion of the panel by telling players that they won't have to wait long for updates. The plan is for the team to share "regular updates about how development is going" starting in 2027.

"We talked about how D5 will let you define your identity, discover builds, chase memorable loot, right?" Shely added. "More than that, our job is to build the game players want - that you want. Not what we think you should want. We want to build the best Diablo game, and that means listening to you; listening to your feedback, and allowing it to shape the game."

Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.