Make Diablo IV the Mature-rated entertainment blockbuster event of the year, owning our dark gothic world and developing that into a crafted story that made it feel like the Game of Thrones or Witcher properties our target audience was into.

Without the ability to show prominent blood, a cornerstone of the Diablo franchise, we had to be relevant to modern gamers in a way that feels provocative, yet still passes network and gaming regulatory board approvals to improve title awareness via linear media buys.

Our objective was to create a spike in brand awareness, standing at just 4.3% in 2022, and needing to reach 12-15% to meet our sales goals.

Beg and plead gamers to save the townspeople of Sanctuary from the slaughter and pain that Hellish demons bring them on a daily basis.

Saviors Wanted is a 30s emotional rollercoaster that channels the dark, messed up world of Diablo IV and turns it into a rallying cry for a new generation of gamers.

Our target audience was at the bleeding edge of a dark culture renaissance. They were captivated by the forbiddenness of Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoe” (containing real human blood) (4.2x affinity) and Kim Kardashian’s gothic-inspired Balenciaga collection (3.6x affinity). They’re fans of gothic artists like Bosch (2.7x affinity) and Caravaggio (3.2x affinity). And entranced by dark shows like The Witcher (7.3x affinity) and Game of Thrones (6.4x affinity).

But our game, with many similar themes, wasn’t on anybody’s mind. Diablo IV would be coming out 11 years after Diablo III, and 27 years after Diablo I. These gaps, combined with so many new and younger gamers in the category, meant our franchise was at risk of being seen as outdated rather than a title with modern relevance.

To get to cinematic performances we needed to combine the perfect casting with real world locations that could draw out the vulnerable performances we wanted.

Our casting process went multiple rounds across the UK and Eastern Europe to find true thespians with worn features, along with an innocent boy who could stunt the audience.

Then we shot in the most raw and difficult places in Budapest to amplify the miserable performances of these desperate villagers in Sanctuary. A decrepit 15th century castle on a rainy day with so much mud and slush it caused multiple production trucks to get stuck. A sewer underneath the city of Budapest that smelled so bad we had to limit the amount of people allowed inside. A frozen field at 5am in the morning to get real snow and a frozen desperate performance out of the actor over his dead horse.

Unaided awareness jumped over 300%, from 4.3% to 18.7%.

Over 10 million copies sold, generating over $666 million in just 5 days, 14.5 million within 18 days, topping $1 billion.

Diablo is by far now Blizzard’s fastest selling and biggest game launch of all time.