'Diablo III' Kanai Cube feature released as tribute to deceased team member

Battle Net, Blizzard's official blog

A new item known as the Kanai Cube is coming to "Diablo III." Included in patch 2.3.0, the item is dubbed as the precursor to the Horadric Cube, an artifact familiar to "Diablo" players.

The Kanai Cube is more than just another frivolous addition to the inventory, as it can even be considered as one of the most useful items in the entire game.

According to Battle Net, Blizzard's official blog, the Kanai Cube is basically the ultimate tool for item customization. Its most notable ability is the one that enables it to extract a Legendary power from items. Once the power is extracted, players can then add it to their collection list. Having this new function available now means that players can continue using a specific Legendary power even without equipping the item it comes from. It also means that players can enjoy having a bigger inventory now that they don't have to carry all the items that the Legendary powers are attached to.

There are some limits to the power of the Kanai Cube in "Diablo III," as players can only equip powers that originate from items that their character's class can also equip; but that drawback is made up for by the fact that players can attempt to reforge a Legendary item using the cube, although a lot of luck will be involved in that process.

Aside from bringing an array of useful new features to "Diablo III," Kanai's Cube is also significant for what it means to the team behind the game.

Kanai's Cube is named after Kevin Kanai Griffith, a "Diablo" fan who eventually joined Blizzard as an artist in 2005, according to IGN.

Griffith was diagnosed with alveolar soft part sarcoma, a kind of cancer, back in 2012, yet he continued to work on "Diablo III" despite the illness. Griffith passed away on Oct. 17, 2014.

As a final tribute, along with notes regarding Kanai's Cube, the team at Blizzard wrote, "We miss you, Kevin. This cube is for you."