LONDON, ENGLAND – September 1, 2000 – At the European Consumer Trade Show starting today, Blizzard Entertainment® announced plans for the Diablo™ II Expansion Set for its number-one selling game, Diablo II.
Diablo II has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide since shipping just two months ago, making it the biggest PC game this year.
In the Diablo II Expansion Set, players return to follow the path of Baal, the last of the Prime Evils, into the Barbarian Highlands of the north. Traveling with hordes of demonic minions, Baal intends to corrupt the powerful Worldstone that protects the whole of the mortal plane from the forces of Hell. Players will face a new series of quests and challenges to prevent the vile minions of the underworld from destroying the world of Sanctuary.
Key features include:
- Two new character classes (the Assassin and the Druid) each with 30 unique skills/spells
- One new act set in the Barbarian Highlands
- Ability to play the new character classes through the original four acts of Diablo II
- Many new monster types, including bosses and uniques
- Interactive environments such as siege towers and fortified battlements
- Thousands of new weapons, armor and magical items, including class-specific quest items
- New recipes for the Horadric Cube
- Increased storage space in the stash
“The success of Diablo II has been overwhelming,” said Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder, “we look forward to increasing the game play and depth of Diablo II through the introduction of new character classes and areas to explore.”
Availability
Diablo II Expansion Set is being developed by the Blizzard North design team and is expected to be released in the first half of 2001 in Windows®95/98/2000/NT and Macintosh formats. The expansion set will be available at most computer and software retail chains worldwide, and will also be offered directly from Blizzard at (800) 953-SNOW and www.blizzard.com.
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for the Diablo II expansion set are Windows® 2000/95/98/NT, Pentium® 233 or equivalent, 32 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM drive and DirectX™ compatible video card. Additional multiplayer system requirements include 64 MB RAM (for the PC) and a 28.8 Kbps or faster modem.
The Macintosh will require a G3 processor, Mac OS 8.1 or higher, 64 MB RAM plus virtual memory, 4X CD-ROM drive and video support for 256 color display at 800×600. The game also offers optional 3D acceleration by supporting Glide™ and Direct 3D™ compatible video cards with at least 8MB of video RAM on the PC and OpenGL™ (v1.12 or higher), Rave™ or 3dfx™ cards with at least 8MB of video RAM on the Macintosh. Use of Direct 3D requires 64 MB of system RAM.
Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft ® series, StarCraft™ and the Diablo™ series, Blizzard Entertainment® (www.blizzard.com) is a premier publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard’s track record includes four consecutive number-one selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s free Internet gaming service Battle.net reigns as the largest in the world with millions of unique users.
Blizzard Entertainment is a division of Havas Interactive, itself a division of French media company Havas, S.A, a subsidiary of Vivendi, a world leader in utilities and communications and one of the largest publicly owned companies in Europe.