Diablo 5 May Miss Spring 2029, Path of Exile Dev Warns

Do you really believe Diablo 5 will be ready by spring 2029? If you're skeptical, you're not alone. Chris Wilson, lead designer on Path of Exile, just shared his thoughts on Blizzard's ambitious release window, and he's not convinced.

In a YouTube video, Wilson pointed out that Blizzard is targeting spring 2029, which he calls "both quite specific and quite soon." He notes that Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred launched in April of this year, suggesting that development shifted to a full sequel rather than another expansion—a move Blizzard also made at the end of Diablo 3's life. Based on that, Wilson estimates Diablo 5 has only been the team's main focus for about five months.

That would explain why BlizzCon showed mostly concept art and a cinematic instead of gameplay. "So how long will it take them to finish the game?" Wilson asks. He then draws on his own experience running a studio that developed a similar-sized game. Even with mature content pipelines and a custom engine, Path of Exile has been in development for eight years and counting.

Wilson argues that Diablo 5 needs just as much content at launch to be competitive, especially since Blizzard has said it will have more character classes than any previous Diablo game, including expansions. "Their three-year timeframe feels like a very tight deadline to me," he says. Sure, they have "Blizzard money" to throw at the problem, but with layoffs and budgeting concerns, that's a risky strategy. Plus, thorough playtesting for drop rates and balance takes time.

"My best guess here is the game won't be ready for spring 2029," Wilson concludes. "But that's OK, delays happen and are normal in this industry." He adds that he's lost count of how many times he delayed a Path of Exile league release, and players were fine with it.

So why announce so early? Wilson blames "Blizzard management," noting that Microsoft wants more frequent releases for its core series. At BlizzCon, Blizzard president Johanna Faries told Bloomberg the company is "going to ship, and ship big, and ship on time," referring to both Diablo 5 and the upcoming StarCraft in 2030. Whatever the reason, the game is coming—just maybe not before the 2030s. Patience is a virtue, right?

What do you think? Will Diablo 5 make its spring 2029 window, or are we in for a longer wait?