Blizzard Re-Reeleasing Old Games Through GOG, Starting With Diablo

Blizzard will be re-releasing classic games from its library through a partnership with GOG, the companies have announced. The first release is 1996's Diablo, the loot-based action RPG that began a franchise and changed the role-playing landscape.

Diablo is now available through GOG.com for $10. Purchasing it gives you access to one of two versions of the game: the original, which runs at 20 FPS SVGA and handles matchmaking through a classic version of Battle.net; or an updated Windows 10 compatible version with bug fixes.

Blizzard and GOG say they plan to collaborate to bring more games from Blizzard's back-catalog to the service as well. Planned re-releases include Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft 2. Release dates and pricing for these games wasn't announced.

"Crawling through the original Diablo's dungeons, together with Blizzard, is a feeling of pure excitement," said GOG SVP Oleg Klapovsky, in the announcement. "It's a personal thing for many of us, and the most wished-for game in our community. Taking the first few steps beneath the Tristram Cathedral, listening to the guidance of Cain the Elder--it's all coming back, for old souls and newcomers alike."

Blizzard is paying homage to its history in its own way as well. It's working on Warcraft 3 Reforged, a remastered version of the classic strategy game that also helped establish the MOBA genre. Meanwhile, Blizzard has multiple Diablo games in the works. One of those is Diablo Immortal, the mobile game that caused a stir with its announcement at BlizzCon. That appears to be the way forward for the company, though, as it has said it has mobile games in development for all of its franchises. And while we have yet to get the remaster of Diablo or Diablo II that many fans crave, it has offered an anniversary event in Diablo III over the past few years to celebrate the original game in the series.