I’m diving right in—here we go with this Diablo 2 ramble. So, yeah, Diablo 2 has been around for a whopping 25 years now. Like, wow—quarter of a century on June 8, 2025! The Diablo folks did their classic mysterious routine on X with a teaser about chaos like we haven’t seen. Fans (me included) went wild speculating. New runewords? Another hero? New cube recipes? The mind boggles.
But let’s jump a bit. So, the grand ‘news’ is Diablo 2: Resurrected hitting China. Whoopee? Not sure that’s what the teaser was about. But hey, China got to wait an eternity (ugh, bureaucracy and censorship), and now NetEase is tag-teaming with Blizzard to unleash this version there. It was officially announced in style at ChinaJoy, complete with a teaser trailer that Faries shared on LinkedIn. Diablo 4’s headed that way too, apparently.
Knowing the way things roll there, it’s all about fitting within their content guidelines—less gore, you know? And pretty sure it had to do with doing some business gymnastics with local publishers like NetEase. So clearly, this version’s got its unique groove compared to the global one.
Expect zero cross-play fun because this Chinese version is doing its own thing. And, uh, pay-to-win mechanics much? Not shy to flaunt that over there with tiered launch packs. The standard pack at 168 Yuan? Gives you D2R with XP boosters. The fancier deluxe pack? 278 Yuan gets you that plus some middling items and low runes. Top tier’s 458 Yuan with a full-on “Glory of the Warlord” set. Fresh gear for early play doesn’t exactly shake me, given 25 years of hacking and slashing in this game.
Now, stash tabs—Diablo gods, give us more! Guess what? Chinese pre-orders score more stash tabs. That’s like a tiny dagger to the heart for folks clamoring for extra space since day one. Some of us have been crying for more stash room, and the mods just give it out for free. Doesn’t feel fair, huh?
Outside China? Well, for those of us not in the Middle Kingdom, this whole dance shows that Diablo 2: Resurrected isn’t just fading away. Feels good? Maybe. Blizzard’s still tinkering, even if it doesn’t always feel that immediate magic.
I scribbled a little while ago about another season without changes—ugh!—lobbing for open multiplayer mods to revitalize Diablo 2. So this China move can’t be all they meant by chaos. I hold on to hope, hoping for some worldwide shakeup ahead. Or maybe I’m just dreaming. That’s all, folks.
