Modder launches full fan-made Diablo 2 remake

A modder has released a full-fledged, fan-made Diablo 2 remake including all of the content and classes from the original game.

The remake is called Reign of Terror and is built in Crate Entertainment's Grim Dawn, a far more contemporary ARPG set in a similarly apocalyptic fantasy world. "Reign of Terror is a full remake (not a 1:1 copy) of the classic ARPG Diablo 2," notes the mod's designer, Ram, in its description. "[It} includes all content and classes present in the original Diablo 2, including its expansion, Lord of Destruction."

"In addition to this, as this is a Grim Dawn mod, it also features all Grim Dawn classes and items, and all of the core mechanics," the description continues. So, in a sense, this mod juxtaposes Diablo 2 DNA with the modernity of Grim Dawn, and is designed to culminate in a full-scale contemporary remake of Blizzard's classic ARPG.

In order to access the Diablo 2 remake, however, you'll need to own Grim Dawn plus both of its expansions.

"To play Reign of Terror, you need the base game as well as the Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods expansion," the description says. "There are manual downloads per patch available, but also a Reign of Terror Launcher, which does all the updating automatically."

Ram reckons this is the closest fans will get to a proper Diablo 2 remake. "Since the core mechanics cannot be changed, a perfect Diablo 2 replica is not possible," Ram writes in the description. "This is as close as it can be."

Given that there probably won't be a Diablo 2 remaster, this fan-made Diablo 2 remake is probably your best bet if you want to play a modern version of the classic ARPG. In terms of other potential Diablo news, Blizzard recently announced that it's still too early to know whether or not BlizzCon 2020 will go ahead, so this could be the most significant Diablo development you'll hear for a while.