Diablo IV, the fourth installment of the long-running action role-playing franchise Diablo, isn’t out yet but it's generating a ton of buzz among fans. In April, the title went gold, even though there were close to two months to go till launch. Now, in a massive promotional push that many will see as a sign of the studio’s belief in the title, Blizzard Entertainment has officially opened the doors of a real cathedral dedicated to the game.
The church christened The Cathedral of Diablo is located in Cambrai, a town situated in northern France, and will be open for fans of the game to visit from May 6 to June 11, which is a few days after the game’s release on June 6. However, while entry is free, fans can only access the church between the hours of 2 pm and 7 pm CEST.
The Cathedral of Diablo has opened its doors to the public.
🗺️ Chapelle des Jésuites, Cambrai, France.
📆 May 6 - June 11
🕑 2PM-7PM CEST pic.twitter.com/6hBRS8IQi9— Diablo (@Diablo) May 6, 2023
In a promotional video posted to its YouTube channel, Blizzard Entertainment provides a brief insight into the making of the cathedral. In the video, the studio harkened back to Diablo’s gothic roots before going to claim that it "immortalized the game’s haunting beauty by creating a piece of art at epic scale on the ceiling of a French church."
The video then panned to John Mueller, Diablo IV’s art director, commenting that he thought the project was impossible. Mueller went on to describe the painting as a "hero’s journey in their confrontation with Lilith."
To create the Cathedral, Blizzard Entertainment commissioned a team of artists to paint a 17th-century Cathedral named Chapelle des Jésuites in Diablo-inspired murals. The painting took place over 30 days and covers 2,400 sq. feet of canvas.
Adam Miller, who lead a team of other Baroque artists, including Voyder and Billy Norrby, tagged the scale and speed of the project "a bit insane."
Given that Chapelle des Jésuites is a real cathedral, it's certainly curious the administrators of such a holy ground allowed it to be painted with demonic imagery. However, the simple explanation is that this is a deconsecrated cathedral, removing its blessing. Thus, it's now a secular site as opposed to a sacred one. The church has been a museum of religious objects and art since 1958.
In other Diablo IV news, Blizzard announced back in April that the game will receive new story content every three months. The revelation, which is a departure from how the studio previously released expansions, generated debate among fans of the game many of whom think it is an attempt by the company to siphon more funds from players.
Also, Blizzard Entertainment published a full list of PC specifications for gamers who will be playing the title on PC. The list includes a range of specifications that include the lowest requirement to play the title till the requirements necessary to play it at 4K resolutions.
Diablo IV will arrive on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms on June 6. However, it will be available on early release from June 2.
