As the Diablo 4 open beta period nears its launch date, Blizzard Senior Vice President Rod Fergusson addresses the rumors that have been circulating online hinting that Blizzard's action RPG is going to be arriving on Xbox Game Pass. After numerous delays and lengthy periods of waiting for any Diablo 4 information, Blizzard's latest entry in the long-running franchise is finally nearing the development finish line. With release still on track for June, fans will finally get to go hands on with the game thanks to an open beta period later in March.In the meantime, Microsoft continues its attempt to purchase Activision Blizzard, and while any sort of resolution still seems to be a ways off, it hasn't stopped Microsoft from planning out its future with some of the big franchises like Call of Duty and the aforementioned Diablo. Last year, Microsoft even teased major Activision Blizzard games getting added to Game Pass, which has seemingly led many to believe that the yet to be released Diablo 4 could follow a similar trend where Microsoft first party games get added at launch if the deal goes through beforehand.In an effort to set the record straight, Rod Fergusson took to his Twitter account to address the speculation and rumors surrounding Diablo 4 head on. While he admitted that it was great to see all of the Diablo 4 Open Beta excitement, he confirmed that there have recently been a lot of questions regarding the game and Xbox Game Pass. As it stands, Blizzard has no plans to put Diablo 4 on Game Pass, so as of now, fans will need to pick up a copy in order to play.
Naturally, things could change if Microsoft's deal to acquire Activision Blizzard goes through in the next couple of months. Still, for now, Fergusson's confirmation puts the rumors firmly to bed. While online, Fergusson also took an opportunity to answer some additional questions regarding the beta, confirming cross play between the different platforms as well as discussing the recently announced KFC crossover promotion with Diablo 4.
The June release date for Diablo 4 has seemingly left some fans divided. Blizzard has already set expectations by announcing that set items, gear that synergize and offer more power the more pieces that are equipped, won't be available at launch. Not only that, Diablo 4 launches alongside other highly anticipated games like Final Fantasy 16, Street Fighter 6, and a few weeks after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Diablo 4 launches on June 6, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.