More than four years have passed since her confirmation in June 2018 Blizzard was already working on Diablo IV, the long-awaited new installment of Diablo, arguably the most prestigious and beloved saga in the dungeon crawler genre. And it may seem like a lie, but more than a decade has passed since its predecessor, Diablo III, hit the shelves. A long wait that finally seems to be about to end.

During these years we cannot say that the franchise has been abandoned. Just a few months ago, we received Diablo Immortal, a free to play for PCs and devices that have been very successful in terms of collection, but which have been banned in some geographies due to their monetization model, and which, as we have already seen, have many pay to wina formula highly valued by corporate shareholders, but offering a mediocre experience for the average player and a sort of caste system where those who pay the most end up with no one to play with.

But it wasn’t all bad news. Also this year we saw the release of Diablo II Resurrected, which was already announced last year, a cover-to-cover remake of the classic and mythical Diablo II, which at the same time managed to preserve even the smallest drop of the essence of the original, but update it to look and behave like a 100% current title. If Immortal didn’t live to see the saga, Diablo II Resurrected is at the opposite extreme.

However, and as I’ve already indicated, it’s been ten years since Diablo III was released, so the wait for Diablo IV is very, very long. And yes, it’s true that at least we’ve known for a while that Blizzard is working on it. So lately we have been learning more about this development as it will be an “endless” game and that it will have more than 150 dungeons and five regions and that thankfully it will not copy the approach pay to win from Immortal to what the customization section will be and now the visuals of the game in its stage alpha. Advances, all of them that fill the basket of expectations, but also slow down the movement of the hands of the clock, as always happens when you expect something, and even more so when you still do not know when it will come.

The good news, very good news actually, is that a leak from Wccftech states this Diablo IV will hit the market next AprilIn about six months. There is no specific date, but the same information suggests that the title could go on pre-sale throughout the month of December. A very smart move, because that way Diablo IV wouldn’t miss the already very close Christmas campaign.

And what time in December does that happen? Well mark this date on your calendar: Thursday, December 8th. Why? Because it’s the day that Game Awards 2022which will surely be the moment Blizzard has chosen to show new Diablo IV material, announce its release date, and in addition announce the title’s immediate (or soon) arrival on major digital stores in pre-sale mode.

The date of this leak coincides on the calendar with this week’s rumor stating it Diablo IV is about to begin its open beta phase, with a selection of users who choose to opt-in to it (not to be confused with a public beta that anyone can join). With a deadline of up to four months, Blizzard can get a huge amount feedback on Diablo IV and in this way to hit the market in April with a very, very polished title, to the delight of a huge community that is eagerly anticipating its arrival in May.