Diablo 4's second expansion won't come out until 2026
Blizzard has announced that Diablo 4's second expansion after Vessel of Hatred will launch sometime in 2026.
As reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Diablo franchise general manager Rod Fergusson took to the stage at DICE Las Vegas to reveal the official release window for Diablo 4's next expansion, which appears to still be untitled.
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the ARPG's first expansion, launched back in October and brought with it a new campaign questline and location to explore, the game's first new character class, a bevy of gameplay and balance reworkings, and more. The DLC was generally well-received despite some controversies largely caused by balance adjustments.
Admittedly, I'm surprised to see Blizzard set a 2026 release window for Diablo 4's next DLC as I'd initially assumed expansions would be released yearly. Another DICE attendee reports that Fergusson said Blizzard had actually intended to release annual expansions for Diablo 4 but found it wasn't possible due to staffing limitations.
The game's regular seasonal content schedule will presumably continue to keep things fresh through 2025, but today's news makes me wonder if there's something bigger in store for this year since we aren't getting a proper expansion until next year.
No additional details beyond the next expansion's 2026 release window have come out of DICE so far, and it probably won't be until Blizzard's official reveal that we'll learn more.
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