Sanctuary's demons are finding a new way to haunt players. Glass Cannon Unplugged, the studio that turned the zombie-filled Dying Light into a board game, has revealed Diablo: Unbound, the first officially licensed board game based on Blizzard Entertainment's dark fantasy series.
The game was announced recently and is set to launch on the crowdfunding platform Gamefound in the first quarter of 2027. It is a cooperative game for one to four players, so you can face the forces of Hell alone or bring up to three friends along.
Into The Darkest Corners Of Sanctuary
The Gamefound announcement promises a trip into "the darkest corners of Sanctuary," where players crush monsters and test themselves against gargantuan bosses. The setting pulls from the entire Diablo timeline, so players will visit places and fight forces from across the series instead of following one linear story.
The first monster family revealed is a great example of the series' grim history. The Khazra were once human members of the Umbaru clans in Teganze. During the Mage Clan Wars, Vizjerei sorcerers transformed captured Umbaru into goat-like, demon-possessed warriors. The clans later bound themselves to the demon Zagraal for more power, and the Khazra have stayed vulnerable to demonic corruption ever since.
On the table, the Khazra are built to hunt the weak. Their Bloodthirsty rule makes every Khazra enemy deal more damage to a hero at half Life or less. Marauders bring melee pressure, Impalers work at range and up close, Khazra Shamans empower nearby monsters, and Maulers charge in and knock heroes into walls, traps, and other hazards.
Built By The Dying Light Board Game Designers
The game is designed by Przemyslaw Zub, Bartosz Tomala, and Lukasz Walczak, the creative team behind Dying Light: The Board Game. Glass Cannon Unplugged CEO Jakub Wisniewski calls Diablo: Unbound a dungeon battler.
"You get the high-stakes showdowns of a boss battler, and hordes of monsters that never let up. But you don't crawl through dungeons. You battle your way down," he said.
Each run combines deck building and dice rolling with loot and character progression. Players will open chests, finish side quests, chase Treasure Goblins, and build Kill Streaks by cutting through successive hordes of Mobs. As the studio puts it, the greater the danger, the greater the reward.
Three Acts Of Descent
The main mode is split into three acts. In each one, players battle through two dungeon levels full of Mobs and Elite enemies before reaching a third level, the boss's lair. A dungeon level takes around 60 to 90 minutes, and a full act takes about three to four and a half hours. Between fights, heroes portal to a nearby town to upgrade skills, manage loot, and change their builds, and a save system makes it easy to stop and pick back up later.
Once the three acts are done, Torment mode opens up. Players can choose a dungeon from an iconic location, pick a monster family to fill it, and then select the source of evil in the region as the boss.
The Heroes Standing Against Hell
Four classes are included in the core game: the Barbarian, the Rogue, the Sorceress, and the Paladin. More are planned through stretch goals and expansions.
The Rogue is the first to be detailed. The class relies on speed, poisons, traps, and shadows, and its Combo system rewards switching between melee, ranged, and movement skills before unleashing a Finisher. The next update will introduce the Paladin, along with a second monster family that should please fans of the undead: Skeletons.
A Free Treasure Goblin And A Demo Watched By Lilith
Fans who follow the Gamefound prelaunch page and later back the campaign with a physical pledge will get a free Treasure Goblin Expansion. Its first batch of loot includes the Avalanche axe, the Red Griffin's Aegis, and the Death Dealers.
The game is also making its public debut at SPIEL Essen, which kicks off today. Glass Cannon Unplugged says its Gates of Sanctuary booth, C611 in Hall 1, will be "under the watchful eye of Lilith herself," with demo tables running all four days. Pricing has not been revealed yet.
Which Diablo horror would you most want to see turned into a boss for the board game, Lilith or one of the Prime Evils?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.