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Holy Satan: First released by Blizzard North in 1997, Diablo kicked off a video game series that continues to be popular today. Activision Blizzard released Diablo IV in 2023, but dedicated fans of the saga can now play the original game on almost any internet-connected device.
A developer has created a new web-based "conversion" of Diablo, allowing both old and new fans of the genre to (re)play the ARPG PC classic. This open-source project builds on the reverse engineering efforts of the Devilution team, incorporating modifications to make the game run efficiently on modern browsers.
According to the developer, the original Devilution code has been adapted to run in WebAssembly. All dependencies have been removed, and the "minimal required" user interface is now implemented solely through JavaScript code. Event handling routines, including the game's menus, were "significantly" modified to fit within the JS programming model.
Someone did a source port of the first Diablo making it completely playable from a browser! pic.twitter.com/TJ0MBAdkqh
– Shane Lynch (@iequalshane) August 13, 2024
The page hosting the project's final version offers players a quick and easy way to access the new web-based port of Diablo. It features the shareware version of the game, but players can upload their own diabdat.mpq file to run the full experience directly in the browser. The port also includes a save game management system, although we had difficulty getting it to work as expected.
Diablo was released on GOG.com in 2019, along with the Hellfire expansion and a compatibility layer for modern Windows systems. Users can obtain their own copy of the game's data (the diabdat.mpq file) through the DRM-free digital store for a few dollars, or they can use the file from an original CD-ROM release if they still have one.
Someone attempted to port Diablo to the web in 2019 using the same Devilution code as the newer project. The 2019 version is no longer available, and the developer of the current port is trying to avoid copyright infringement by allowing users to provide their own copy of the game.
I tested the shareware version of Diablo since I couldn't locate the original game box. Using Firefox on Windows 10, the web port seems to run adequately, though the graphics appear slightly slower and less responsive than I remember. Nonetheless, the prospect of replaying one of the best PC games ever made on a smartphone is undeniably enticing for longtime Diablo fans.