Diablo 4 has kicked off Season 8, marking the beginning of a series of free updates that are set to pave the way for the game's second expansion, slated for release in 2026. Despite the excitement around these updates, not everything is smooth sailing within Diablo 4’s dedicated community. The core player base, known for their deep engagement with the game, is eager for substantial new features, reworks, and innovative gameplay mechanics to keep their interest piqued in this nearly two-year-old action role-playing game. They're vocal about their desires, actively communicating their expectations to Blizzard. While Diablo 4 also attracts a large casual audience that enjoys the straightforward thrill of monster-slaying, it's the veteran players who form the backbone of the community, constantly analyzing meta builds and craving more complex challenges.
The recent release of Diablo 4's 2025 roadmap, the first of its kind from Blizzard for the game, has sparked significant backlash. Following its unveiling, the community voiced their concerns over the planned content for 2025, including Season 8, questioning whether there's enough innovation to keep them engaged. The debate reached such a level that a Diablo community manager stepped in on the Diablo 4 subreddit to clarify the situation: "We added fewer details to the later parts of the roadmap to accommodate for things the team is still working on," they stated, reassuring players that "This isn't all that's coming in 2025 :)." Even Mike Ybarra, the former president of Blizzard Entertainment and a high-ranking official at Microsoft, joined the conversation with his own insights.
Season 8 has launched amidst this backdrop, introducing several controversial changes. One of the most notable is the overhaul of Diablo 4's battle pass, aligning it more closely with Call of Duty's model. This new system allows players to unlock items in a non-linear fashion but offers less virtual currency than its predecessor, affecting players' ability to fund future battle passes.
In an in-depth interview with IGN, Diablo 4 lead live game designer Colin Finer and lead seasons designer Deric Nunez addressed the community's reaction to the roadmap. They confirmed plans to update Diablo 4's skill tree, a long-awaited feature by players, and elaborated on the rationale behind the changes to the battle pass.
Diablo 4's 2025 roadmap touches on 2026. Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
