Hell Is More Fun Together as The Many and Diablo Team Up to Create Deeply Disturbing SlayPals

The Many Studios—the production arm of independent, award-winning agency The Many—has created a marketing campaign for the latest expansion pack of Blizzard Entertainment’s action role-playing Diablo video game, Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred.

The objective is to tell the world that Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred now has new mercenary characters in a way that breaks beyond endemic gaming media. The aim is a high-profile moment that puts Diablo at the forefront of culture while reenergizing core and lapsed fans by encouraging them to come back to the game they love.

“As a culture, we obsess over nostalgic movies, music, and toys,” said Nate Totten, creative director at The Many Studios. “We wanted to tap into ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia with a demented Diablo IV blood-soaked twist.”

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred released on October 8 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, S, and Windows platforms.

“Diablo has a passionate, die-hard audience—some of which have been playing since the ‘90s,” said Krystha Dart, Diablo senior manager of global digital marketing. “Tapping into audience insights, we knew nostalgia content would play right into our core’s positive feels for the game they love.”

The work breaks on October 15 on Diablo’s social channels (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook), which combined have approximately 500 million subscribers. There will be no paid media. “The Making of SlayPals” video debuts on Thursday, October 17, and it will be followed by a “Sing Along” that gives fans the opportunity to share their own mercenary gameplay highlight reels set to an evil earworm.

Exclusive “SlayPals” merchandise with custom campaign illustrations will be available at the Blizzard Gear Store on October 17. The t-shirts represent Diablo’s first Capsule Collection, a merchandise series that supports a specific campaign, rather than the game itself. 

“Whether it’s buying SlayPals t-shirts or gamers submitting Sing-Alongs, The Many creates brand relevance for a culture that wants to participate, engage, discuss, connect, and share,” said Josh Paialii, head of creative at The Many. He continued, “After we were awarded the Diablo work in June, we set a goal to not just spark relevance for players but for pop culture as a whole.”

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred is the next big chapter for the game. The launch of Diablo IV in 2023 quickly made it the fastest-selling game in Blizzard Entertainment history.