Blizzard Details Three-Story Structure for Diablo V

Diablo V will feature three intertwining stories set in the past, present, and future, while the game world will dynamically change under the influence of powerful servants of evil.

Game Director Joe Shely shared that the action will unfold in a grim reality where the Lord of Terror has achieved complete victory and subjugated all of Sanctuary.

The past will show the events that led to the world’s conquest by the demonic hordes, the present will focus on the struggle for survival in a ruined land, and the future will unfold through the dynamic shifting of the environment influenced by the “Commanders of Dread.”

The developers call this system “terraforming,” as each general of Hell alters the biomes under their control, including the landscape, weather, and vegetation.

Thanks to procedural generation, the same location can change significantly. A territory might first be ruled by an undead lord, who fills it with hordes of zombies and corpse rot. Later, the player might discover a stronghold of surviving humans there or an entirely new nightmare zone created by a different demonic leader.