With just a few days before the early access open beta period begins for Diablo IV, many people have been wondering if Blizzard"s action RPG will be added to Microsoft"s Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription programs. Well, it looks like that isn"t happening, at least not on the game"s release date of June 6.
In a Twitter post today, Rod Fergusson, the General Manager of the Diablo franchise at Blizzard (and previously the General Manager of Microsoft"s Gears of War developer The Coalition), stated:
We’ve been getting some questions about D4 on Game Pass and I want to let you know we have no plans for that.
It"s awesome seeing the excitement around the Diablo IV Beta, and our Wolf Pack puppy! We’ve been getting some questions about D4 on Game Pass and I want to let you know we have no plans for that. See you in Sanctuary during the Beta Early Access weekend starting on March 17!
— Rod Fergusson (@RodFergusson) March 13, 2023
It was not an odd question to ask. Microsoft is trying to acquire Blizzard"s parent company Activision Blizzard and is trying to wrap it up, with approvals from various government regulators in the UK, EU, and the US. If the deal does actually go through, many folks expect the Activision Blizzard game library to show up on Xbox Game Pass.
Meanwhile, the early access to the Diablo IV open beta begins on March 17, starting at 9 a.m. PST (noon EST) and it will end on March 20 at 12 p.m. PST (3 p.m. EST) for people who pre-order the game or get a code if they buy certain sandwich items from KFC. The rest of the world will access the beta March 24-27.
The full game is coming June 6 to the PC, Microsoft"s Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles, and Sony"s PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. You can pre-order the game on Amazon now.
Our stories may contain affiliate links for products/apps where Neowin is paid an affiliate fee if you complete a purchase via those links.