This year officially marks the 20th anniversary of the original Diablo game’s release in 1996, and the momentous milestone had fans eager to fan the flames of rumors of a new Diablo game, or some other official celebration of the franchise’s history, emerging at this year’s Blizzcon. While a full sequel was not in the cards for announcements at Blizzcon, at least so far, we not only received news of a much desired character pack coming to Diablo III, but also that content which celebrates the original Diablo game would be coming to Diablo III as well.

A new update, titled The Darkening of Tristam, will add a dungeon with 16 levels meant to invoke veteran players’ memories of a simpler time, when Pogs, the Backstreet Boys and Kenan & Kel reigned supreme. Much like the original Diablo game from that long-forgotten time period, this new addition will reflect a retro-theme by including a filter that will give a classic, pixelated, Windows 95 look. Another retro callback is that movement will be locked into 8 possible directions, as opposed to full 360 degree movement, to remind players of past limitations. The four main bosses from the original game will also be present to bring back old keyboard-wrecking frustrations.

The “Darkening of Tristam” update will indeed be free when released to the public, and it has been confirmed that a Public Test Realm server will give access to this update next week. I am glad that Blizzard did something, even as simple as this, to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Anything that helps keep the legacy of such an important piece of PC gaming alive is great. Now, more than only ’90s kids will know about this.

We will providing updates regarding all of the news that is coming from Blizzcon this weekend. Be sure to keep an eye on all the new Blizzard game news here at Don’t Feed the Gamers and sound off with your thoughts below!