Summary
- Blizzard has released a roadmap for Diablo 4, outlining what’s coming to the game in 2025.
- It seems most of the major features are arriving in 2026.
- Players are disappointed by the lack of progress Diablo 4 has made over the past two years.
Running a live-service game is not an enviable task. Releasing enough content to satisfy the masses without overburdening the development team is a constant balancing act. But if you’re going to charge money for the content you’re adding, then it’s not an act you can afford to mess up. With the resources available to Blizzard, you’d assume they have adequate manpower to manage one of their live-service behemoths in Diablo 4.
However, it’s become clear in the two years since Diablo 4 was released that the vocal part of the playerbase isn’t often satisfied with the type of content they’re receiving. The game’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, was released in October and Blizzard has now published a roadmap of what to expect for the rest of 2025. The roadmap also includes a teaser of what’s coming in 2026.
Does Not Spark Joy
The roadmap features new quests, powers and earnable pets. The majority of the substantial upcoming features appear to be coming in 2026: a new expansion, a new ranking system, new leaderboards and what could be a teaser for a new class. However, that last part is obscured by flames in the roadmap graphic.
Although 2026 seems like it’s going to be an exciting one, 2025 seems bare in comparison. This has prompted some backlash from players, who have expressed this negative sentiment in a recent Reddit thread by SabyReid.
“Disappointing, and I didn’t expect much,” writes Ortaigon. “Oh boy! Can’t wait for the new helltide colour and temporary powers! It’s gonna be so dope!” adds Inangelion, sarcastically.
Other commenters lament that Diablo 4 is approaching its second anniversary and the gameplay remains “bland.” As Unusual_Share_4461 puts it, “That 2 year anniversary tag hit me like a brick. 2 years already and this is all we have to show.”
The crux of the problem is that these players don’t feel like Diablo 4 makes progress year-on-year. Each new season only brings with it additional cosmetics and slight gameplay tweaks, not full-fledged features that elevate the experience: “Earnable pet. X powers. Again! 2 year anniversary. Hello, where’s the f**king content? Season stuff is wasted potential, but their main approach? Game won’t get anywhere if that’s the case,” writes Adhonaj.
A comment from Lyricana Nightrayne, a Diablo community manager, assures fans the roadmap doesn’t encompass everything that’s coming in 2025, but those replying to that comment don’t seem any more excited by the prospect of these unknown additions.
4.5/5
- Released
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June 6, 2023
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language