Diablo 3 Darkening Of Tristram Event Returns In Time For Franchise's 25th Anniversary

Diablo is celebrating 25 years of demon-slaying, and what better way to honor the occasion than to explore the dungeon where it all began in the return of Diablo III's Darkening of Tristram event?

The event sees players hunting down mysterious cultists in Diablo III's adventure mode before being able to dive deep beneath Tristram cathedral in order to battle iconic enemies from the franchise's past, including the Lord of Terror himself. Once inside the 16-floor dungeon, the game takes on a retro-inspired look and feel to mimic that of the original Diablo dungeon-diving experience, including a UI overhaul and limiting players to only moving in eight directions.

Along the way players can score some exclusive event rewards like unique transmogrification effects, exclusive achievements, special pets, and more. The Darkening of Tristram will be live in Diablo 3 until January 31, after which players will likely have to wait until the same time next year for another chance to experience the event.

Diablo originally released on December 31, 1996. Players could choose from the Warrior, Sorcerer, or Rogue classes as they battled their way through Diablo's lair underneath Tristram. The game would go on to influence an entire genre, one that would become even more popular with the release of Diablo II in 2000. The original Diablo is currently available to purchase over on GOG.com, where it includes an unofficial expansion called Hellfire that adds new locations, enemies, and even a new class in the Monk.

Diablo II: Resurrected, a re-release of the original Diablo II with modern visuals and other small improvements, released in September 2021. While at launch Blizzard sought to keep the remaster as close to classic Diablo II as possible, an upcoming patch will be bringing major balance changes to the game's classes and mercenaries for the first time in more than a decade.

Though it never had an official release date, Diablo IV is now expected to arrive later than originally planned. The game's delay comes in the wake of ongoing sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits and investigations at Activision Blizzard.