Diablo is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996.[1][3]

Set in the fictional Kingdom of Khanduras in the mortal realm, Diablo makes the player take control of a lone hero battling to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Beneath the fictional town of Tristram, the player journeys through sixteen randomly generated dungeon levels, ultimately entering Hell itself in order to face Diablo.

An expansion pack entitled Diablo: Hellfire was released in 1997 by Sierra Entertainment. In 1998, Electronic Arts released Diablo for the Sony PlayStation.[5] This version, developed by Climax Studios, featured direct control of the main character's direction, as opposed to point-and-click movement, using the PlayStation controller. A Sega Saturn version was considered by Electronic Arts but never released.[6] The game's level of success led to two sequels: Diablo II in 2000 and Diablo III in 2012. Five years later, to celebrate Diablo's 20th anniversary, "The Darkening of Tristram" quest was added to Diablo III in early 2017