Diablo is doing a crossover with grimdark anime Berserk and, OK, that makes sense

When the Diablo 4 roadmap appeared it included two instances of the concerning phrase “New IP collab”. Worrying visions of skins that let you dress your rogue up as Jinx or your necromancer as, I don’t know, Skibidi Toilet or something flashed through our heads. Fortunately, the first collab to be announced is much more tonally apt.

Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal will be crossing over with Berserk, a popular dark fantasy manga and anime series with a vibe that aligns pretty closely with Diablo’s heavy metal aesthetic. Even if you don’t know Beserk you’ll be familiar with its look as it’s the thing FromSoftware has ripped off repeatedly, and every fantasy saga where an angsty dude with an oversized sword grumps around owes it a debt.

It could have been a lot worse. Videogame collaborations can go either way, with the injection of the Ninja Turtles and Hellboy into Injustice 2 being super fun and Magic: The Gathering’s Fallout cards surprisingly thematic. Meanwhile, having The Witcher appear in Lost Ark was a clash of tones that did not turn out for the best.

Blizzard hasn’t said what form the Diablo x Berserk collaboration will take, but expect some appropriately edgy cosmetics for your barbarian at least. And at least one comically huge two-handed sword.