Blizzard teased two “new IP collabs” for Diablo 4 back on April 8, and it didn’t long for them to reveal the first: A crossover with legendary manga series Berserk.Details on the collaboration are scarce, but the announcement video is evocative as hell. It opens with a shot of Berserk’s foreboding and narrative-shifting eclipse before panning to the action taking place below. Diablo’s Barbarian, decked out in Berserk protagonist Guts’ jagged armor and massive Dragon Slayer great sword, cuts down a horde of lesser demons, their red blood exaggerated against the blackness of the moon’s shadow. He stops for a moment to reveal another piece of Berserk iconography in the glowing Brand of Sacrifice on his neck before resuming his slaughter.The video’s X upload is captioned “You have been Branded,” whereas the YouTube version invites players to “Trace the path of the Black Swordsman.” Both Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal will apparently be included in the crossover.While both Diablo games will more than likely receive Berserk cosmetics to celebrate the pairing, we may also be able to glean gameplay elements from the short video courtesy of the Brand of Sacrifice’s cameo. The mark is a big deal in the world of Berserk, as those bearing the brand have been labeled as offerings in a ceremony meant to assist another in transcending humanity and becoming a god. Should a person with the Brand of Sacrifice survive the ceremony, they become something of a beacon for evil spirits. It’s possible Diablo players will be able to accept the Brand of Sacrifice willingly as a way to increase enemy spawns and thus garner more experience and loot.Berserk was first published by writer and artist Kentaro Miura in 1989, and in the decades since has gone on to become one of the most beloved and commercially successful manga in history (just don’t ask about the anime adaptations). Its legacy is tangible, not only in the worlds of comics and animation but video games as well, most notably serving as a major influence on FromSoftware releases like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Miura’s sudden passing in 2021 shocked the world and shifted responsibility for Berserk’s continuation to Kouji Mori, a close friend who promised to “only write the lines and stories that Miura described to me.” The manga’s most recent chapter, the title of which roughly translates to the Sekiro subtitle “Shadows Die Twice,” was published on Feb. 28.A firm date hasn’t been provided for the Diablo x Berserk crossover, but it’s scheduled to take place during the “Belial’s Return,” event sometime between April and July.See More: Diablo 4PlaystationPlaystation logoPlaystationPlaystation logoWindowsWindows logoXboxXbox logoXboxXbox logoExplore The GameWhy it mattersLike Diablo 3, Diablo 4 took a while to find its feet, but a major 2024 update turned it into the hugely gratifying and compulsive loot-hunting game it always threatened to be.— Oli Welsh, Senior Editor, U.K.