Blizzard outlines its seasonal content and post-launch plans for Diablo IV

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Blizzard Entertainment has published its latest Diablo IV quarterly update, this time discussing the game’s monetization and shop. While there will be cosmetics for purchase, Blizzard is saying up-front that there won’t be any paying for power.

In today’s update, the studio says it will have a cosmetics shop and seasonal passes, alongside the Seasons system modeled after Diablo III. For each new season, you create a new character and engage with the new seasonal content, allowing players to jump in even if they missed the last season. The first season will be available soon after launch, and the team is aiming for four seasons a year.

This on-ramp mandates that all power needs to come from playing the game itself. So, in Blizzard’s own words, “you will not be able to pay for power in Diablo IV.”

The Season Pass rewards will have free and premium tiers. The latter won’t contain any in-game power or advantage over other players who don’t have that tier, though. The Free Tier will provide gameplay boosts, but those will be available for all players. These Season Boosts can help players out for the duration of the season, adding things like accelerated XP gain.

While players can purchase tiers to advance through the pass, Blizzard also says that you can’t just unlock all the seasonal boosts through purchases alone. These will also have level milestones associated with them, so while players can jump ahead to grab cosmetic rewards from higher tiers, they can’t shortcut the play-time necessary for the boosts.

The post-launch plans also sound extensive, as Blizzard’s Kegan Clark writes that Diablo IV will have an “army of developers” for years to come after launch. Seasons will include new gameplay, quests, challenges, changes