Blizzard says Diablo 4 DLC expansions will be annual
Blizzard confirms that it is pursuing a Destiny 2 release model
Blizzard plans to release paid expansions for Diablo 4 On an annual basis, Rod Ferguson, general manager of the Diablo franchise, confirmed in a new interview.
Asked by Dexerto about Blizzard’s plans for the future of the game as a live service, Ferguson said, “When you look at the launch of the game and this first season, we see that as building a foundation that we can build on for the future.” . So, when we look at our quarterly seasons, we look at our annual expansions, those are the things that we’re really focused on in our direct service.
Blizzard It was clear from the start that you plan to support Diablo 4 With paid expansions that enhance its main story (as opposed to side stories that appear in seasonal updates). Ferguson hinted that the development team was targeting an aggressive release schedule when he stated that they were already working on two expansions.
“We’re building things in parallel,” Ferguson told Kinda Funny Games at the time of the game’s launch in June. “Right now, as I sit here, we’re about to release the main game, we’ve finished Season 1, we’re working on Season 2, we’re working on Expansion 1, and we’re starting Expansion 2.” It’s all happening now.”
However, this is the first proposal that Blizzard intends to make a new expansion for Diablo 4 every year. It’s a big step for the series: Diablo 2 And Diablo 3 They only got one full expansion each, though both are well received. Meanwhile, a stablemate World of Warcraft It gets a very large new expansion once every two years.
Blizzard has a different direct service model Diablo 4However, her inspiration is clear: Destiny 2. Bungie is supported by free seasonal updates and paid (almost) annual expansions, as well as a cosmetic shop. Blizzard seems to be clouding Bungie’s strategy for Diablo 4 For a while – except for seasonal character resets for the role-playing game genre – so Ferguson’s confirmation doesn’t come as a huge surprise.
As for what to expect from it Diablo 4The first expansion for, a new class sounds like a dead certificate – my money would be in either one Diablo 2Paladin or Diablo 3Crusader, if not an entirely new category – and a confrontation with Lilith’s father, Mephisto, is certainly in order. Look out for the potential reveal at BlizzCon in November ahead of the 2024 release date.
Read more
