This week, Blizzard released Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, an expansion to the wildly popular fantasy action-role-playing game that tasks players with slaughtering masses of screeching demons and collecting the randomized gear that they leave behind. Since coming out last year, Diablo IV has been a big success for Blizzard, earning more than 666 million (yes, really) in its first week. But before that release came years of fits and starts, including a predecessor that was perceived within Blizzard as an embarrassment and an iteration that was so drastically different, people began wondering if it was really still Diablo anymore. Today, Diablo is one of Blizzard's most important franchises. But to at least one Blizzard executive who was around in its early days, it wasn't even a "real game."

'Tis the season to wear silly jumpers, consume too much of everything and spend cold weekends catching up on all the games you didn't play over summer. And this week, to stave off boredom during the long nights, we're giving away a limited edition Diablo III Nintendo Switch thanks to our friends at Blizzard. The bundle includes a Switch with gothic decals, a download code for Diablo III: Eternal Collection and a themed carry case. We also have five extra cases to send to the runners-up, in case you can get away with taking your Switch to your aunt's house on Boxing Day. You can get your no-strings-attached entry in via the Rafflecopter widget below, but don't forget to give the rules a quick look first.

On the same day it released Diablo III on Nintendo Switch, Blizzard announced it's bringing the Diablo franchise to even more platforms. The studio revealed at Blizzcon that Diablo Immortal, which is coming to iOS and Android, will be the first mobile game in the series. The action RPG is set after Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and before Diablo III. It features six customizable classes (Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer and Wizard) with more planned for the future. You'll be able to drop in and out of groups in the MMO and take part in "dynamic events" across Sanctuary.

In a hellion cross-promotion, Activision Blizzard and Nintendo have partnered up to release a special edition Switch console for Diablo III exclusively at GameStop. The bundle will include the 2012 game, plus its two expansions, Rise of the Necromancer and Reaper of Souls. Included in the set will be a black and gray Switch console -- and dock -- featuring Diablo III artwork, a carrying case, as well as the standard trove of of items and accessories, like Joy-Cons, a grip and an HDMI cable. But it wouldn't be a third-party Nintendo cross-promotion if it didn't include some iconic, (and somewhat out-of-place) character cameos. These include items from The Legend of Zelda, such as Ganondorf's Transmog Armor, a companion Cucco pet, and a Golden Triforce Portrait Frame.

Rumors were swirling for weeks ahead of Blizzard's heavily hyped Diablo announcement on Wednesday. Were we to see a potential spin off series, perhaps an all-new sequel to the long-running franchise? Nope, because Diablo III is coming to the Nintendo Switch this fall. In fact, Blizzard is bringing all of Diablo III to the Switch -- the entire Eternal Collection. That consists the base 2012 game itself as well as both expansion packs, Reaper of Souls and Rise of the Necromancer.

Let's get this out of the way: A lot of norms were disrupted in the videogame industry this week. There was news of a writer at a top gaming site allegedly plagiarizing reviews, and also reports that the Chinese gaming market is having troubles. Oh, and Diablo III is making the leap to the Nintendo Switch. Up is down, down is up, and a lot of things are out of whack. So let's expect the unexpected and get right to it.

Popular video game developer Blizzard Entertainment has released several massive hits over the years, between "World of Warcraft," "Diablo III" and "Overwatch." However, the company has not released a game on a Nintendo platform in 20 years. According to a new report from Eurogamer, that may change in the near future. Eurogamer's sources confirmed a long-standing rumor that "Diablo III" would come to Nintendo Switch, with an official reveal "several months off." They could not confirm if the new version of the game would come with the game's "Reaper of Souls" and "Rise of the Necromancer" expansion packs, but it would seem likely based on precedent.

"Games as a Service" has become a buzzword in recent months, especially in the wake of November's Star Wars Battlefront II lootbox controversy. The lootbox association has also tainted the term, tying it inextricably to what's at best seen as a "necessary evil" in the industry. But the basic idea behind Games as a Service is a net positive in theory: The games you like get expanded upon after release. It's what people liked about MMOs, but for all genres--the silver lining to this digital future, with its Day One patches and all the other stuff players like to grumble about. So let's celebrate the games that got it right.

Microsoft kicked off Xbox One X preorders at the annual Gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany on Sunday. But it also took the lid off a sweeping list of current and upcoming games designed to take advantage of the souped-up Xbox One's ability to render games more fluidly and at substantially higher resolutions. The company says over 100 titles will be enhanced when the Xbox One X launches for $499 on November 7. At the moment, the tally is notably higher than 100 and includes a vast range of acclaimed already-released games, like The Witcher 3, Diablo III, Resident Evil 7, Fallout 4, Dishonored 2 and Final Fantasy XV. A few of those have yet to receive enhancements on Sony's own 4K-angled PlayStation 4 Pro, which arrived last November with far fewer enhanced games, though developers have rushed to increase the number since. The Xbox One X is doubtless benefitting both from Sony getting the 4K train rolling and its own extra year in the oven.

For the uninitiated, Seasons lets you experience Diablo III just like a new player would with a level one character. You'll level up and upgrade your gear faster than with a higher level character, which can be fun for veteran players who have to grind a lot more to see gains. It can also be a great way to take a friend through the game for the first time, since you'll both get to play with a clean slate at the same difficulty level. You can either create a new character or "rebirth" a current one, reverting it to level one and classifying it as Seasonal. Seasons also includes leaderboards and mission-like tasks in the Season Journey, as well as more difficult Conquest challenges -- both only available to new characters created for this game mode.