As if the Diablo 4 hype amongst players wasn’t enough following the recent open beta weekends, a reliable leaker indicates that the game will receive a special edition console.
The Xbox Series X, while a powerful console capable of great graphics, isn’t much to look at in and of itself. That’s why a limited edition version is always welcome, especially if it coincides with a AAA game as highly anticipated as Diablo 4. Hype for Activision Blizzard’s hellish hack-and-slasher is already high following the two Diablo 4 beta periods, so the rumoured special edition Diablo 4 Xbox console is sure to stoke excitement even further.
The limited edition Diablo 4 console’s existence has seemingly been confirmed by known leaker @billbil_kun on Twitter, who states in a post that the Xbox Series X Diablo 4 edition will release on June 6, 2023 – the same day as the full game – and will be priced at $559.99 in the US. Interestingly, that would make this special edition of the Xbox Series X $60 more than the standard black version.
It's also a slightly higher price hike than the one seen when the limited edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X launched at £479.99 / $549.99 / AU$849. So it['s likely that, if this edition is available in the UK and Australia, that those regions will also be paying a tad more for a Diablo Xbox Series X than they did for the Halo Infinite edition – that $10 increase could translate to a price of around £490 / AU$865 for the limited edition console, but it's rarely a straight conversion with regional pricing so this is just a ballpark guess.
The leak fails to mention whether or not the Diablo 4 console will come with a copy of the game included, though they did mention that the term “bundle” isn’t mentioned in the listing they discovered. Either way, if true, this leaked console listing that was spotted seemingly indicates that Diablo 4’s marketing will be heavily aligned with Microsoft rather than Sony in the lead up to release – and that’s despite the Microsoft-Activision deal not being expected to go through by June (when the game launches).
The X Factor
As someone who owns both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, even I can admit that both consoles look rather boring in terms of aesthetics. Sure, Sony took a massive swing by making its current-gen console look like a miniaturised seven-star Dubai hotel, but it doesn’t look good per se. Xbox’s on the other hand is entirely stripped back, looking like a giant black PC tower, so any form of limited edition variant has me excited. Even more so if this limited edition Xbox Series X will be one tied in to celebrate the release of Diablo 4.
I had a lot of fun playing as the Barbarian class during the Diablo 4 beta despite the long queues that caused some player backlash, so I’m eager to see what the final design for this supposed special edition Diablo 4 console looks like. Will I buy it? Probably not given that I already own an Xbox Series X, but I’ll certainly appreciate it from afar.
Microsoft won’t be the only one dabbling in the realm of limited edition consoles this summer either, as Nintendo just recently announced a Nintendo Switch – OLED model to tie in with the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That would leave Sony as the only one without a special, celebratory console this year, but we could see one in time for when Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches, which is possibly happening in September.
