Diablo 4 will finally have official servers inside China, with the Chinese launch set for December 12, 2025. The client will ship version 2.4.2 the Season 10 build, and Blizzard has outlined free trial access, sign-up rewards, and some localized visual changes for the region.
What Blizzard is doing in China
The move marks Blizzard’s return to the Chinese market following the end of its partnership with NetEase. The local launch aims to cut out cross-region lag for Chinese players and offer a tailored storefront and on-ramps for new users, including a free trial that takes characters up to level 25.
Launch details
- Official launch date: December 12, 2025
- Launch version: 2.4.2, which corresponds to Season 10
- Free trial: Play up to level 25 for new accounts
- Rewards: Pre-launch sign-ups and beta participants will receive unique cosmetics; Blizzard has not clarified whether any rewards are region-exclusive
- Primary announcement: Blizzard China announcement
Localized visual adjustments
Because of local content rules, some in-game visuals will be altered for the Chinese release. The most visible example is the Wandering Death world boss, which will receive a redesigned appearance in the Chinese client. Gameplay mechanics are unchanged, but expect several cosmetic edits across the user interface and selected monsters.
Timing and market context
December is a heavy play period even without Christmas as a local holiday, so the date gives Blizzard a higher chance of capturing active players during the year-end gaming spike. The company is also avoiding overlap with several big AAA windows to keep the spotlight on this regional rollout. DemandSage numbers place the Chinese gaming audience at roughly 680 million players, which explains why Blizzard sees strategic value in a local launch.
What to watch for
- Whether the pre-launch cosmetics are restricted to the Chinese region
- How latency and matchmaking behave once local data centers are live
- Any further UI or asset adjustments beyond what Blizzard has shared so far
The Chinese launch is a significant operational step for Blizzard, and it will be telling to see how player engagement and monetization perform once local servers are active.
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