Diablo IV: Season of the Malignant Arrives in Late July, Renown and More Carries Over

wccftech.com:

Diablo IV is the first full-on live service entry in the beloved action-RPG series, and as such, Blizzard has revealed what exactly we can expect from the game’s first post-launch season. As Blizzard already teased, Diablo IV: Season of the Malignant will see a new corruption spreading across the land, but there are some big rewards for those who seek out and defeat these corrupted monsters and demons.

Basically, once you jump into the Season of the Malignant content with a new character, you’ll occasionally run across an elite monster that’s been affected by the Malignance. Defeat them twice, and you’ll gain access to a Malignant Heart, which can be slotted into your gear like a gem. These hearts will be even more powerful than gems, allowing you to make “stupid new broken builds,” according to Blizzard themselves. You can check out a quick teaser trailer for Diablo IV: Season of the Malignant, below.

During the latest Diablo Developer Update, Blizzard also clarified exactly how seasons will work, and whether any of your progress will carry over to them. You won’t be able to start on the Season 1 content until you’ve finished the main game, and you’ll have to roll a new character, but some things like Renown, Altars of Lilith, and cleared fog of war will carry over. Just log in with the character you’ve made the most progress with, and your Renown/altars/fog of war will carry over, account-wide, for any new seasonal characters you start. That means you’ll be able to get a nice start on things, with up to 5 skill points and 5 extra potion charges right off the bat. Here's a bit more about what you can expect from Season of the Malignant...

As for how seasons will progress, there will be a story and main “Seasonal Journey,”