Diablo III Launch Day Preparation Guide

To make sure your return to hell goes smoothly next week, Blizzard Entertainment has prepared a Diablo III “launch day preparation guide” that contains pertinent details about region-specific launch times, digital purchase pre-loading, when Global Play will be activated, and more.  Can you believe it’s almost here?

Regional Launch Times

As previously mentioned in the announcement of our midnight launch events, the launch time of the game is broken down by region.
The Americas (U.S., Canada, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia) servers open at: 12:01 a.m. PDT, May 15

Digital Presale Download

If you’ve purchased a digital copy you can begin downloading your client right now, and we highly encourage you to do so. We also have a Diablo III presale visual guide available that may be helpful. As it may take you some time to download the full game, it’s best that you begin early. This may afford you additional time to troubleshoot any downloader or installer issues you may encounter.

Early Install

We will be unlocking the game’s installer at 8:01 a.m. PDT on May 14. This will allow you to begin installing the game, troubleshoot any issues you run into, download and install the launch day 1.0.1 patch, and be ready to play as soon as the servers come online.

Global Play Launch Time

We’ll be turning on Global Play when the game has launched in all regions. This means that you will not be able to play in a region outside your home region until after the Americas’ midnight launch at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 15. We’ll provide an update once Global Play is enabled, and you’ll then be able to change the region you connect to through the game’s options. Please note that characters, items, and friends lists do not transfer across regions and players who use Global Play to connect outside of their home region will only be able to access the gold-based auction house. More information can be found in our Global Play introduction article.

Launch Night Login

As we’ve unlocked the Diablo III installer early, many people will be ready to log in right when the servers go live at midnight, so we’re going to be closely monitoring the impact on the service. It’s possible we’ll need to adjust the rate at which we’re logging people in to ensure a stable experience, and if we do you may see a delay when attempting to login. Please be aware that a delay of up to 40 seconds is possible while the game attempts to connect you. If your connection doesn’t succeed in 40 seconds, you’ll be presented with an Error 37 message and asked to try again. If you see this error it does in fact mean that you should try again. We’ll be working around the clock to keep you informed of any issues that are occurring through the in-game breaking news window, as well as the official forums.