Heartipedia

Diablo IV

Diablo IV, often written Diablo 4, is an online action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment and released in June 2023 for Windows, PlayStation and Xbox.[^2][^6] It has had two paid expansions, Vessel of Hatred in October 2024 and Lord of Hatred in April 2026, and offers eight playable classes as of November 7, 2026.[^1][^15][^17] A ninth class, the Amazon, is due as a paid Class Pack in the first half of 2027, and Blizzard has announced Diablo V for spring 2029.[^21]

A hero against waves of demons Blizzard's own footage in GameSpot's Lord of Hatred overview: a hero fights wave after wave of demons in Echoing Hatred, the endless mode added in 2026.

Overview

Diablo IV is the fourth main game in Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series of action role-playing games.[3] Players watch their hero from above, cut through crowds of demons and collect gear, in a world that Blizzard describes as shared with other players, with cross-play and cross-progression between platforms.[1] It needs an internet connection and a Battle.net account at all times, including on Nintendo Switch 2.[1][33] The game came out for Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S, reached Steam on October 17, 2023, and arrived on Nintendo Switch 2 as the Age of Hatred Collection on September 15, 2026.[5][10][21] Console players can also share one screen in couch co-op.[5] A new character can begin with the base campaign, start inside an expansion's story, or, once the campaigns are finished, go straight to the endgame.[1] As of November 7, 2026, the running season is Season of Hell's Legacy, which Blizzard calls the centerpiece of the series' 30th anniversary.[1][22]

A hero against waves of demons Blizzard's own footage in GameSpot's Lord of Hatred overview: a hero fights wave after wave of demons in Echoing Hatred, the endless mode added in 2026.

Development

Blizzard revealed Diablo IV on November 1, 2019, opening BlizzCon in Anaheim with a long cinematic trailer.[3] The reveal showed three classes, the Barbarian, Sorceress and Druid, kept the series' overhead view despite rumors of a first-person game, and brought back Lilith, the antagonist from Diablo II.[3] Game director Luis Barriga left Activision Blizzard in August 2021, during an investigation tied to a lawsuit over working conditions at the company, and design lead Joe Shely was promoted to replace him, as announced on October 8, 2021.[4] At the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2022, Blizzard set a 2023 release, introduced the Necromancer as the fifth and final launch class, and confirmed cross-play and cross-progression on every platform.[5] Microsoft completed its $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard on October 13, 2023, four months after the game's launch.[11] Diablo IV joined Xbox Game Pass on March 28, 2024, the first Battle.net game added to the service.[12] In August 2025, more than 450 workers on the Diablo team unionized with the Communications Workers of America, and Microsoft recognized the union.[31]

Looking back to the 2019 reveal On the Diablo V panel at BlizzCon 2026, Diablo's senior art director recalls sharing the stage in 2019, the year Diablo IV was announced, and says the team is now at work on Diablo V.

Launch and the first season

Players who pre-purchased the Digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition could start on June 1, 2023, and the full launch followed on June 5 at 4 p.m. PDT, June 6 in much of the world.[2][6] Activision Blizzard reported more than $666 million in sales in less than a week, calling Diablo IV Blizzard Entertainment's fastest-selling game of all time, and counted 276 million hours played since early access.[6] More than 10 million people played it in June 2023, the company said in its second-quarter results.[7] The first season, Season of the Malignant, began on July 20, 2023.[8] Patch 1.1.0, released just before it, weakened characters across the board, and in a Campfire Chat livestream the developers conceded that taking power away feels bad and promised a more surgical approach to future balance changes.[9] They also restated that the game was meant as a capped power experience rather than an endless grind.[9] Diablo IV came to Steam on October 17, 2023, the day its second season, Season of Blood, began.[10]

Classes

Diablo IV has eight playable classes as of November 7, 2026: the Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue and Sorcerer from the base game, the Spiritborn from Vessel of Hatred, and the Paladin and Warlock from Lord of Hatred.[1] The Spiritborn, which Blizzard presented as a class new to the series, fights with glaives, quarterstaves and polearms and channels four Spirit Guardians.[14][15] Each Lord of Hatred class has four subclasses: the Arbiter, Zealot, Judicator and Juggernaut for the Paladin, and the Legion, Vanguard, Mastermind and Ritualist for the Warlock.[19] The Spiritborn, Paladin and Warlock require the expansions, and any edition of Lord of Hatred also unlocks Vessel of Hatred.[1][14] Pre-purchasers of Lord of Hatred could play the Paladin from the night it was announced, four months before the expansion itself.[17][18]

The Paladin and the Warlock as a pair At the Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight in February 2026, the developers present Lord of Hatred's two classes as light and dark counterparts: the holy Paladin and the Warlock who turns Hell's power to its own use.

Items, difficulty and the endgame

Season 4, Loot Reborn, rebuilt the item system from May 14, 2024: items carry fewer but stronger affixes, rarer Greater Affixes are one and a half times as strong, and two crafting systems, Tempering and Masterworking, let players add and strengthen affixes.[13] The same season added the Pit, a timed dungeon of 200 levels whose materials feed Masterworking.[13] Since April 2026, every player can reach level 70, choose among 12 Torment difficulty levels instead of four, filter loot by hiding or color-coding items, and build from redesigned skill trees, whether or not they own the expansion.[20] Lord of Hatred's own endgame adds War Plans, in which players choose the activities they run and the modifiers on their rewards, and Echoing Hatred, a mode of endless demon waves meant to test a build.[19] Blizzard's public test of patch 3.3.0, held on PC from October 27 to November 3, 2026, tried out War Plans Tactics, Horadric Items tied to Talisman set bonuses, and a Fractured Reaper boss for Season 16.[25]

War Plans at the command table The Spotlight walks through War Plans: at a command table, players build a playlist of endgame activities and choose their rewards, and each activity grows its own tree of modifiers.

Seasons

Between expansions, Blizzard runs Diablo IV as a live game with free seasons, each with its own mechanic and story.[1][23] Rod Fergusson, then head of the Diablo franchise, spoke in 2023 of quarterly seasons and annual expansions; Kotaku observed in September 2026 that the game had received two expansions and would get no more.[23] A season begins a fresh Seasonal Realm, and a player who has finished the campaign once can skip straight to the seasonal endgame there.[1] Season of Hell's Legacy started on September 15, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. PT, with the lost soul of Deckard Cain leading players into Waking Nightmares, encounters that recreate places and fights from earlier Diablo games.[21][22] Blizzard's What's Next panel at BlizzCon 2026 said the Death Cult of recent seasons is growing stronger, that War Plans progress will be shared across a player's characters, and that future seasons will refine War Plans further.[24] Blizzard's test notes for patch 3.3.0 refer to Season 16 but give it no start date.[25]

Expansions

Vessel of Hatred, the first expansion, was released on October 8, 2024, with its rollout beginning on October 7 at 4 p.m. PDT.[15][16] It added the Spiritborn, the jungle region of Nahantu, recruitable Mercenaries, Runewords and the Dark Citadel, a cooperative endgame dungeon.[14] That update also raised the level cap to 60 and introduced Torment difficulties for everyone.[16] The expansion is no longer sold on its own: any edition of Lord of Hatred unlocks it.[14]

Blizzard announced the second expansion, Lord of Hatred, at The Game Awards on December 11, 2025.[17] It was released on April 28, 2026, on Battle.net, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.[17][20] Its story follows Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, as he spreads corruption across Sanctuary toward the Pools of Creation, and the player must rely on Lilith to stop him, in the new region of Skovos.[19] Besides the two classes, it added War Plans, Echoing Hatred, a reworked Horadric Cube and the Talisman, an item that grants set bonuses.[19] On Steam, Lord of Hatred's Standard Edition costs $39.99, and the Age of Hatred Collection, with the base game and both expansions, costs $69.99, as of November 7, 2026.[26][35]

Lord of Hatred's launch trailer Blizzard's launch trailer runs through the expansion one title card at a time: the new campaign, the region of Skovos, the Paladin and Warlock, the Horadric Cube, the Talisman, War Plans and Echoing Hatred.

Reception

Critics rated the base game highly: Metacritic shows 86 on PC and PlayStation 5 and 91 on Xbox Series X, and OpenCritic gives a Top Critic Average of 88, with 92% of critics recommending it across 180 reviews.[27][28] Diablo IV won Online Game of the Year at the 27th D.I.C.E. Awards on February 15, 2024, where it was also a finalist for Role-Playing Game of the Year.[30] Lord of Hatred scores 84 on PC, 85 on PlayStation 5 and 86 on Xbox Series X on Metacritic.[29] Steam's English-language user reviews read Mostly Positive, 73% of 22,415, on November 7, 2026.[26] Valve's count of players in the game on Steam alone stood at 6,434 at 05:35 UTC on November 7, 2026, seven weeks into Season of Hell's Legacy.[34][21]

IGN on the Lord of Hatred campaign IGN's review praises the expansion's short campaign, its cutscenes and its references to older Diablo lore.

Business model and criticism

Diablo IV is a paid game: on Steam the Standard Edition costs $49.99 as of November 7, 2026.[26] Each season also has a premium Battle Pass whose rewards include armor sets, mounts and Platinum, while the power-granting Season Blessings come from the free tiers.[8] Shop prices drew criticism at launch, when MP1st reported armor sets at 1,300 and 2,500 Platinum and a mount with armor at 1,600 Platinum, at roughly one dollar per 100 Platinum.[32] The always-online requirement has also drawn criticism: reviewing the Switch 2 version in September 2026, FRVR called it a solid port but said the lack of offline play soured the experience.[33] The 1.1.0 balance patch of July 2023 was the other early flashpoint, which Blizzard answered by promising more targeted changes.[9]

What comes next

At BlizzCon 2026 on September 12, Blizzard announced the Amazon, a class who wields the returning bow and javelin, as a paid Class Pack due in the first half of 2027.[21] The same ceremony announced Diablo V for spring 2029, set in a Sanctuary where Diablo has already won, and an animated Diablo series in development with Netflix.[21] Brent Gibson, the Diablo game director, told PC Gamer that the team felt it had told the story of Hatred and was moving toward the story of Terror, and Kotaku reported that no new Diablo IV expansions are planned.[23] The What's Next panel described the Amazon as built around battle expertise, athleticism and mythical magic.[24] As of November 7, 2026, Blizzard has given the Amazon Class Pack no price and no exact date.[21][24]

The Amazon announced At the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, Blizzard announces the Amazon from Skovos, with the bow and a weapon new to Diablo IV, the javelin, as a Class Pack for the first half of 2027.

Priorities after Lord of Hatred On BlizzCon 2026's What's Next panel, the developers set out their priorities after the last planned expansion: new seasonal items and Horadric Cube recipes first, then more variety in the endgame.

Key facts

Developer and publisher
Blizzard Entertainment, part of Microsoft since Oct 13, 2023[11][26]
Released
Jun 5, 2023 at 4 p.m. PDT (Jun 6 in much of the world); early access from Jun 1[2][6]
Platforms
Windows (Battle.net, Steam), PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2[5][10][21]
Classes
Eight: Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, Sorcerer, Spiritborn, Paladin, Warlock[1]
Expansions
Vessel of Hatred (Oct 8, 2024), Lord of Hatred (Apr 28, 2026)[15][17]
Price on Steam
$49.99 Standard; $69.99 Age of Hatred Collection with both expansions[26]
Metacritic (base game)
86 on PC and PS5, 91 on Xbox Series X[27]
Launch sales
More than $666 million in under a week, Blizzard's fastest-selling game[6]
Announced next
Amazon Class Pack (first half of 2027); Diablo V (spring 2029)[21]

Timeline

  1. Blizzard reveals Diablo IV at the opening of BlizzCon 2019.[3]
  2. Joe Shely is named game director after Luis Barriga's departure.[4]
  3. Blizzard sets a 2023 release and reveals the Necromancer.[5]
  4. Diablo IV launches, after early access from June 1.[2]
  5. Season of the Malignant, the first season, begins.[8]
  6. Microsoft completes its purchase of Activision Blizzard.[11]
  7. The game arrives on Steam as Season of Blood begins.[10]
  8. Diablo IV joins Xbox Game Pass.[12]
  9. Season 4, Loot Reborn, rebuilds the item system.[13]
  10. Vessel of Hatred is released with the Spiritborn.[15]
  11. Lord of Hatred is announced and the Paladin becomes playable for pre-purchasers.[17][18]
  12. Lord of Hatred is released with the Paladin and Warlock.[17]
  13. BlizzCon 2026 announces the Amazon Class Pack and Diablo V.[21]
  14. The Age of Hatred Collection comes to Nintendo Switch 2 and Season of Hell's Legacy begins.[21]

What we think

This section is Heartipedia’s own opinion, not sourced fact. Each view is reasoned from the facts cited above and from trends we see; it may turn out wrong. A prediction’s words are never changed once made: when the facts are known we add the result under it, right or wrong. Every prediction we have made.

The Amazon shadow-drops for pre-purchasers

We expect Blizzard to open pre-purchase of the Amazon Class Pack before the end of 2026 and let buyers play the Amazon the same day, months before her official release.

Why: Blizzard did exactly this with the Paladin, playable for anyone who pre-purchased Lord of Hatred on the night of its announcement at The Game Awards on Dec 11, 2025, four months before the expansion came out. The Amazon is promised only for the first half of 2027, with no price or date, and a class sold on its own has nothing else to hold back.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Jan 2027 Made

Cheaper than an expansion

We expect the Amazon Class Pack to cost $24.99 or less in the US.

Why: Lord of Hatred's Standard Edition, with two classes, a region, a campaign and two endgame modes, costs $39.99 on Steam, and the Age of Hatred Collection sells the base game with both expansions for $69.99. One class and no region has to sit well below the price of the whole expansion to sell.

Prediction Confidence: Likely Check by: Jun 2027 Made

A second Class Pack before Diablo V

We expect Blizzard to announce a second Diablo IV Class Pack, after the Amazon, before the end of 2027.

Why: Kotaku reported that no new Diablo IV expansions are planned, yet Diablo V is not due until spring 2029. The Class Pack is the only paid content format left between now and then, and seasons alone pay only through the Battle Pass and the shop.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Dec 2027 Made

No offline mode, ever

We think Diablo IV will never get an offline mode, not even on Nintendo Switch 2, before Diablo V comes out.

Why: The game has needed an internet connection and a Battle.net account on every platform since 2023, and FRVR's Switch 2 review in September 2026 still found it always online. Its shared world, cross-progression and seasons all live on Blizzard's servers, and with no expansion planned there is no large release left to carry such a change.

Prediction Confidence: Likely Check by: Nov 2028 Made

The free update was the real expansion

We think the most important part of Lord of Hatred was the part nobody had to buy: level 70, twelve Torment levels instead of four, the loot filter and the rebuilt skill trees, given to every player. Our view is that Diablo IV's best decisions since Loot Reborn have all been changes to the base game, not the paid content.

Why: Season 4's rebuilt items, Vessel of Hatred's free level cap and Torment difficulties, and Lord of Hatred's free changes for all players each reshaped how the whole game plays, while the paid expansions added classes and regions on top. Critics scored Lord of Hatred 84 to 86 on Metacritic, close to the base game's 86 to 91.

Opinion Made

What others predict

Predictions made on video by creators, experts or the subject of this page, in their words, each linked at the second it is said. The one line after each is our view. When the facts are known we add the result, right or wrong.

Rhykker: the Paladin in the second expansion

Rhykker , at 2:17 Check by: Apr 2026

"I am 99% sure that the new class is going to be something like a paladin" (YouTube's automatic captions)

Our view: We think it was the safest call he could make, because the Paladin was the class players had asked for longest, and he was right to make it with confidence.

Result (): Right. Blizzard announced Lord of Hatred at The Game Awards on Dec 11, 2025 and made the Paladin playable that night for anyone who pre-purchased it; the expansion came out on Apr 28, 2026 with the Paladin and the Warlock. He guessed the class might be called the Templar instead; Blizzard kept the name Paladin.

Moments

  1. A hero against waves of demons Blizzard's own footage in GameSpot's Lord of Hatred overview: a hero fights wave after wave of demons in Echoing Hatred, the endless mode added in 2026.
  2. Looking back to the 2019 reveal On the Diablo V panel at BlizzCon 2026, Diablo's senior art director recalls sharing the stage in 2019, the year Diablo IV was announced, and says the team is now at work on Diablo V.
  3. The Paladin and the Warlock as a pair At the Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight in February 2026, the developers present Lord of Hatred's two classes as light and dark counterparts: the holy Paladin and the Warlock who turns Hell's power to its own use.
  4. War Plans at the command table The Spotlight walks through War Plans: at a command table, players build a playlist of endgame activities and choose their rewards, and each activity grows its own tree of modifiers.
  5. Lord of Hatred's launch trailer Blizzard's launch trailer runs through the expansion one title card at a time: the new campaign, the region of Skovos, the Paladin and Warlock, the Horadric Cube, the Talisman, War Plans and Echoing Hatred.
  6. IGN on the Lord of Hatred campaign IGN's review praises the expansion's short campaign, its cutscenes and its references to older Diablo lore.
  7. The Amazon announced At the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, Blizzard announces the Amazon from Skovos, with the bow and a weapon new to Diablo IV, the javelin, as a Class Pack for the first half of 2027.
  8. Priorities after Lord of Hatred On BlizzCon 2026's What's Next panel, the developers set out their priorities after the last planned expansion: new seasonal items and Horadric Cube recipes first, then more variety in the endgame.

References

  1. Diablo IV official site, Blizzard Entertainmentprimary
  2. Diablo IV Launches Soon: Here's What You Need to Know, Blizzard Entertainment, 2023-05primary
  3. BlizzCon 2019: Blizzard announces Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, PCWorld, 2019-11-01press
  4. Diablo 4 design lead Joe Shely promoted to game director, Game Informer, 2021-10-08press
  5. All Hell Breaks Loose in 2023: Diablo IV is Coming, Blizzard Entertainment, 2022-06-12primary
  6. Diablo IV earns more than $666M in sales in first five days, setting a new Blizzard record, Activision Blizzard, 2023-06-12primary
  7. Diablo 4 had 10 million players in June, Insider Gaming, 2023-07-19press
  8. Malignance Runs Rampant in the First Season of Diablo IV, Blizzard Entertainment, 2023-07primary
  9. Catch Up on the Season of the Malignant Campfire Chat, Blizzard Entertainment, 2023-07-21primary
  10. Diablo IV Coming to Steam on October 17, Blizzard Entertainment, 2023-10primary
  11. Microsoft seals $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, The Daily Beast, 2023-10-13press
  12. Diablo 4, first of the Battle.net games to be added to Xbox Game Pass, will be available from Mar 28, Inven Global, 2024-03-27press
  13. Galvanize Your Legend in Season 4: Loot Reborn, Blizzard Entertainment, 2024-05primary
  14. Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, Blizzard Entertainmentprimary
  15. Prepare to Embody the Spiritborn: Pre-Purchase Vessel of Hatred, Blizzard Entertainment, 2024-06-09primary
  16. Conquer Colossal Foes in Season of Hatred Rising, Blizzard Entertainment, 2024-10primary
  17. Daddy's coming home with Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, Xbox Wire, 2025-12-11primary
  18. Wield Divine Might as the Paladin, Blizzard Entertainment, 2025-12-11primary
  19. Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, Blizzard Entertainmentprimary
  20. Prepare for the Reckoning: Lord of Hatred Draws Near, Blizzard Entertainment, 2026-04primary
  21. Diablo's Next Era Revealed at BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremonies Recap, Blizzard Entertainment, 2026-09-12primary
  22. Celebrate 30 Years of Diablo in Season of Hell's Legacy, Blizzard Entertainment, 2026-09primary
  23. Diablo 4 annual expansions are done as Blizzard focuses on seasonal stories leading up to Diablo 5, Kotaku, 2026-09-13press
  24. Diablo IV: What's Next Panel Recap, Blizzard Entertainment, 2026-09-13primary
  25. The 3.3.0 PTR: What You Need to Know, Blizzard Entertainment, 2026-10-27primary
  26. Diablo IV on Steam, Valve, 2026-11-07primary
  27. Diablo IV, Metacritic, 2026-11-07press
  28. Diablo IV, OpenCritic, 2026-11-07press
  29. Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, Metacritic, 2026-11-07press
  30. The D.I.C.E. Awards 2024 winners and finalists, Shacknews, 2024-02-15press
  31. Over 450 Diablo team employees unionize with CWA, Shacknews, 2025-08-28press
  32. Diablo 4 cosmetic items are ridiculously overpriced, MP1st, 2023-06-02press
  33. Diablo 4 on Nintendo Switch 2 is a pretty solid port, but no offline sours the experience, FRVR, 2026-09-17press
  34. GetNumberOfCurrentPlayers for app 2344520, Valve, 2026-11-07primary
  35. Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred on Steam, Valve, 2026-11-07primary

Reference links open in a new tab, so this page stays where you left it.

About this page

Drafted by
claude-opus-5-5 on 2026-11-07T12:00:00Z
Checked by
no AI check has run on this page
Reviewed by
not yet reviewed by a named human
Status
Published and revised continuously; this version is the one described here.
Published
7 November 2026
Last updated
7 November 2026, see what changed
Sources
No Wikipedia source; the sources are listed above.
License
Text CC BY-SA 4.0; embedded videos and thumbnails remain their uploaders’ property, shown under YouTube’s Terms of Service; quotations excluded. Details

Suggest a change Revision history

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Jump to the search box
F
Full screen on or off
Ctrl + ,
Settings
? or Ctrl + /
Open this list
Esc
Close this list, or the Settings or account menu

Video, on a page that has one

Space or K
Play or pause
← →
Back or forward 5 seconds
J L
Back or forward 10 seconds
0 to 9
Go to 0% to 90% of the video
, .
Previous or next frame, while paused
M
Mute or unmute
C
Captions on or off
F
The video full screen on or off
A D
Previous or next moment