Diablo 4 seasons will overlap with expansions like the Vessel of Hatred

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Blizzard)

With Diablo 4 embracing a live service structure for the very first time, it's difficult to know exactly how Blizzard will handle the release of key expansions. Associate game director Brent Gibson sought to provide some clarity at BlizzCon 2023, telling me that "we're not going to pause" the seasonal structure when the Diablo 4 DLC Vessel of Hatred launches next year. 

As it stands, Diablo 4 is cycling through new seasons every three months – each offering unique game mechanics, endgame activities, and rewards tied to free and premium battle pass tiers. Since launch, we've had the Season of the Malignant and the Season of Blood, and these sort of themed seasons are set to continue in perpetuity. Even when the first premium expansion launched, which is set to whisk characters (including a brand new mysterious class) sequestered on the Eternal realm off to a brand new region of Sanctuary to continue the core storyline. 

"When we launch, we're going to have stuff for Seasonal players, we're going to have stuff for the Eternal players… Basically, every player type that we have, we're going to have something there for them to play with. That's really important to us," Gibson continues. "There's so many playstyles out there right now, and we don't want to alienate any of the groups along the way." 

That means that whether you decide to buy the Vessel of Hatred or not, there will still be a new season of content there for you to dive into. Whether the battle pass rewards will be heavily inspired by the new region and class remains to be seen, but for the time being it's good to know that Blizzard is keenly aware of the risk associated with dividing the player base through new expansions – expected to launch every year, rather than once a game cycle as we've seen with previous Diablo games. 

Diablo 4 Uniques were "generally not exciting enough", so the devs updated almost every single one.

Josh West
Editor-in-Chief, 12DOVE

Josh West is the Editor-in-Chief of 12DOVE. He has over 15 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Prior to starting his current position, Josh has served as GR+'s Features Editor and Deputy Editor of games™ magazine, and has freelanced for numerous publications including 3D Artist, Edge magazine, iCreate, Metal Hammer, Play, Retro Gamer, and SFX. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. In his spare time, Josh likes to play bass guitar and video games. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you've definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.

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