Diablo III on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4

Diablo III is coming to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4! This guide covers all the details for the console development that have been revealed so far. There will be a huge amount of new information from the PAX East event this weekend, March 22-24 in Boston, MA. This guide will be updated regularly during that event, and in the coming weeks and months as more information is released about Diablo III for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

Last update to this guide: March 21, 2013


The console version of Diablo III for PlayStation 3 will have the latest patches and big features from the PC version, including Paragon levels, loads of epic Legendary items, the Infernal Machine event, Monster Power, Brawling, and more. There are many parts of the game that have been adjusted to fit better within a console gameplay experience: much of the user interface, the controls within the game, and the camera angles have been overhauled to make the game easier to approach on the PlayStation 3. Once the Diablo III console development team moves on to the PlayStation 4 version, they will make further adjustments to take advantage of the new features on that console, compared to the PS3 or PC versions.
The PlayStation 3 version of Diablo III has a dramatically overhauled version of the user interface. The PS3 version doesn't have the paper doll character display of the PC version; instead players can see the full 3D characters as they equip and change items, to see how they look. As seen in the screenshots, the interface for items involves a circular menu, by item type. The design is set up to encourage players to quickly find and change items from their inventory when needed, and jump back immediately into the action.

In the PC version of Diablo III, control is done the mouse to direct or guide the character. A player clicks on a spot in the game world, and the hero moves along a path to that position. With the PS3 version, the player controls the character's movements directly, with the analog sticks on the controller. The controls for the rest of the game have also been customized to work with the PS3 controller.

The PlayStation version of Diablo III is specifically built to be played with the controller, and will not support USB mice or keyboards. Similarly, there are no plans to update the PC version to support a PS3 type of controller, just because it is supported by the console version.
The game world has been reviewed for the PS3 version of Diablo III, and the monsters and bosses are tuned specifically for the console version. The angled camera that is so much a part of the Diablo gameplay experience is being adjusted for the PS3 version of the game. The camera is dynamic in the console version, zooming in and out automatically. This fits well with the local co-op version of the game, where up to 4 players can play together, connected to one PS3. There is no need for a split-screen there, because the camera will zoom out to fit everyone on screen together at once in full screen. A new Evade capability is part of the PS3 version of Diablo III, apparently for characters of all classes, so that "when stuff's coming at you, and the demons are summoning around you, you can move quickly out of the way". Diablo III on the PS3 will have online multiplayer with matchmaking, through the PlayStation Network. Players on the PS3 can go through PlayStation Network to queue up or just invite players from their friend's list there, to play with other players online.
There are "currently no plans to allow connectivity between PlayStation Network and Battle.net". Characters on the PlayStation 3 (and presumably PlayStation 4) versions of Diablo III will only be able to be played there, and cannot play with Battle.net characters. The local co-op mode allows up to 4 players can play locally, all connected to one PlayStation 3. The idea is to have games of friends hanging out, sitting on the couch and playing together to blast through the demons and monsters in Sanctuary. This is handled without a split-screen, as the camera dynamically adjusts to fit everyone on screen together at once. From the information so far, this may be able to run entirely offline; if accurate, this would be the first time players could run Diablo III without an internet connection.

Like the PC version of Diablo III, the PlayStation versions will be updated regularly with patches from Blizzard. The exact process of this hasn't been released yet. We can speculate that it will likely be a more sedate process than the standard Public Test Realms schedule used for the PC client. The patches on the PC (like patch 1.0.7 or patch 1.0.8) will no doubt continue as normal through the PTR process; once a patch there is finalized to go live, that new patch will likely be given to the console development team to be fit into the PlayStation version of the game.

Once both the PS3 and PS4 versions of Diablo III are released, Blizzard will have many different versions of the clients and servers used to run Diablo III. On the personal computer side, there are already the Microsoft Windows version and Macintosh OS X versions of the client, that tie to the Battle.net servers. The PS3 and PS4 versions will be tied to the PlayStation Network server structure, which will make a lot to juggle for the development and live ops teams. Blizzard developers gave noncommital replies to the idea of taking Diablo III to other consoles beyond the PS3 and PS4, but left open the possibility. The PlayStation 4 version of Diablo III has been announced, but has not been in active development like the PlayStation 3 version. This can be seen even in the phrasing of the initial Blizzard press release: the company is actively "developing" the PlayStation 3 version, but has just "confirmed plans to adapt the game" for the PlayStation 4.

Blizzard only received a copy of the new PS4 DualShock 4 controller the day before Sony's press conference announcing the new console in February. Blizzard will work to develop Diablo III for the PlayStation 4 in a manner that takes advantage of the new abilities within that console, just as the game has been adapted best to work on the PS3. That is down the road; for now, the focus of the console development team seems trained on getting the PS3 version finished.