Glass Cannon Unplugged and Blizzard have announced Diablo: Unbound, which the studio calls the first officially licensed Diablo board game. Visitors at SPIEL Essen can play a demo until October 25, and the crowdfunding campaign starts in the first quarter of 2027.
Up to four players team up against the monsters of Sanctuary, and a dedicated solo mode is included. Each player picks a class from the video games: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorceress or Paladin. More classes are planned as stretch goals and in future expansions. Stretch goals are bonus rewards that a crowdfunding campaign unlocks once it hits certain funding targets. Glass Cannon Unplugged has adapted video games before, including Dying Light and Frostpunk.
How it plays
The campaign is split into acts. In each one, players fight through several dungeon levels with tougher and tougher monsters until a boss waits at the end. Loot comes from chests, side quests, elite monsters and Treasure Goblins, the creatures that first showed up in Diablo III. Just like in the video games, players never know exactly what they will get.
Between fights, players portal back to town to upgrade skills, sort their loot or change their build.
Play time and complexity
A single dungeon level takes about 60 to 90 minutes, and a full act runs three to four hours. A save system lets groups split an act into shorter sessions.
At the booth in Essen, Diablo: Unbound looked interesting but also a bit complex: cards, dice, skill trees and loot management all share the same table. Players should plan enough time with friends to really get into it.
How to try it and when to back it
Players who can't make it to Essen can test the game in Tabletop Simulator, a digital board game app. Glass Cannon Unplugged runs playtests and guided online demos through its Discord server.
Players can't buy the game yet. It launches on Gamefound, a crowdfunding platform similar to Kickstarter, in the first quarter of 2027. The studio has not shared a price. Players who follow the prelaunch page now and later back the campaign with any tier that includes the physical game get a free Treasure Goblin expansion, which will grow with new content until launch.
