Diablo 4 might not be saved just yet, but the Paladin helped its player count climb for Season 11

Reports of Diablo 4’s death have been greatly exaggerated, it seems. Blizzard’s ARPG had been in a seasonal slump, but players have flocked back for the new update with Season 11 and the arrival of the Paladin.

Announced at The Game Awards, the Paladin was a surprise new class tied to preorders of the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion, and according to Steam data, it’s helped give the 2023 game a shot in the arm that it needed.

Diablo 4 players climb significantly after Paladin and Season 11 drop

Over on SteamDB, you can see how the number of players climbs from less than 5,000 concurrents to over 40,000 in the space of a few days.

And, while it’s dropped south of that number since, the game is still running with around 20,000 players concurrently as of December 28’s data.

There are caveats, of course. For one, we don’t know how many players are checking out the Paladin versus those just playing for the new seasonal content, with the former being paid and the latter a free addition. In fact, if you’ve preordered the upcoming expansion anyway, there’s a good chance Diablo 4 is in your regular rotation.

Then there’s the fact that SteamDB only covers Valve’s storefront, but Diablo being a Blizzard franchise means it likely has a lot of players on Battle Net, as well as console versions for PS5 and Xbox Series S and X.

Those aren’t included here, but it’s clear that whatever Blizzard is doing right now is working. As a Diablo subreddit lurker, it’s been quite nice to see the number of players just enjoying the game, especially after Season 10 was a solid addition, too.

Is Blizzard on the comeback trail with Diablo 4? Who knows, but with a new class, location, and a fresh campaign to come in April, it’s not gone to hell just yet.