Chloe Zhao is the director of the new “Diablo IV” trailer, entitled “Saviors Wanted.” It’s a one-minute advertisement featuring a plethora of actors all calling upon you, the watcher, to combat evil by playing Blizzard Entertainment’s isometric action roleplaying game when it launches on June 6, 2023.
Though the ad is backed by the directorial chops of Academy Award-winning director Zhao, this work is more in line with her CGI-heavy “Eternals” activity than the filmography that won her an Oscar. Check out the trailer for a minute’s worth of magic-imbued archers, glowing dragons, evil hexes, demons, and shapeshifting war bears.
For anyone not familiar with the “Diablo” franchise, don’t expect the game to look like the trailer. Beyond the obvious difference that the trailer features real actors rather than computer-generated characters, the game itself is not a spectacle experience rife with cinematic style and wild camera angles. It’s an isometric game wherein your character takes up a relatively tiny portion of the screen and, while the action can be intense, the thrill is more so derived from the mechanics at play rather than the visuals.
“Working with Blizzard, we had the wonderful opportunity to bring the dark, thrilling and imaginative world of Diablo IV to life,” said Chloe Zhao. “Diablo fans are very passionate, and many have been with the game for over two decades. We want to do right by the fans, honor the game’s rich lores and visceral world building while evoking the strong emotions the players feel while immersing in the game.”
A gaming company going for the live-action trailer route isn’t unique to Blizzard, as Sony’s made a habit out of the approach over the years when marketing PlayStation franchises such as “God of War.”
“Diablo V” will cost $70 and is scheduled to release on PS5, Xbox Series X & S, and PC, as well as PS4 and Xbox One (which will also be stuck with the $70 price tag, despite being last-gen systems more accustomed to $60 tags). The game appears to be a return to form after the franchise took a chance on a mobile-centric iteration titled “Diablo Immortal,” which many fans decried as an out-of-season April Fool’s joke.
