Diablo 4 dev promises new expansions won’t pause seasonal content

Diablo 4’s Brent Gibson has said new expansions like Vessel of Hatred won’t negatively impact ongoing support for seasonal content.

Diablo 4’s first expansion was announced during the opening ceremony for BlizzCon 2023. Titled Vessel of Hatred, the paid DLC will finally reveal to players the fate of Mephisto, Lord of Hatred.

Blizzard hasn’t shared much about the expansion as of yet. However, when it arrives in late 2024, fans can expect to explore a brand-new storyline in a region beyond the current confines of Sanctuary.

Until then, the studio plans to continue following through on its seasonal content releases, which run on three-month cycles. Season 1 – Season of the Malignant – launched in late July, followed by Season of Blood in October. For those wondering, this kind of support won’t end with the advent of paid expansions.

Diablo 4 expansions will overlap with seasonal support, dev says

Speaking with GamesRadar during BlizzCon, Associate Game Director Brent Gibson clarified that Blizzard won’t “pause” the game’s seasonal structure when Vessel of Hatred releases.

In other words, seasonal players, eternal players, and those who choose to buy the expansion won’t be short on content.

Gibson explained, “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. There’s so many playstyles out there right now, and we don’t want to alienate any of the groups along the way.”

Blizzard Entertainment

Given the way in which Diablo 3 operated, this may not come as much of a surprise to some. Still, much has changed with Diablo 4, so clarification about how seasons and expansions will function is welcomed.

Many specific details remain under wraps for the time being, however. That will likely remain the case until Vessel of Hatred arrives in late 2024.