It seems that Diablo 4 is looking more and more like a live service game, whether it has to be always online or not.
As reported by Game Informer, Blizzard’s game plan (so to speak) is to release new content for Diablo 4 every three months. This time, Blizzard does not want to use the term expansion, so each content update won’t be as big as Diablo III’s Reaper of Souls. However, each update will have new mechanics and features, and the story of each update will be based around that.
Blizzard did not reveal how long they intend to give content updates, but here’s the clincher; they will also have a seasonal battle pass with free and premium bonuses. The first season battle pass will definitely not be launching with the game and will come sometime later.
We have some idea of what these content updates will look like as well. Blizzard had previously previewed that endgame content will come in the form of Nightmare dungeons. Nightmare dungeons are remixes of Diablo 4’s dungeons with some added elements.
Some examples they shared of these added elements are lightning pillars and shadows. The lightning pillars are invisible, and will chase players around a dungeon. The shade will also be following players around. If you get caught by the shadow, more enemies will appear and your vision will blur.
There will also be Helltides, parts of the open world that will also have added difficulty. They will also have harder enemies and remixed bosses from the main game.
If you were wondering what new ideas Blizzard had brewing for this long awaited next incarnation of the Diablo series, here it is. As we have known for a very long time now, Diablo 4 is going to be always online.
Diablo 3 also originally had been designed that way for all platforms, but this time, Blizzard is going all in on a monetization strategy that gamers say they hate, but simultaneously, cannot seem to stop spending money on.
Are live service games the seeming future of these AAAs? Gamers are getting more and more vocal about their dislike for the business model, but clearly they will tolerate some games adopting this model above others.
Destiny seems to be the major AAA that’s proven to developers that this is something gamers will tolerate even if they say they dislike it. As to whether the same applies to Diablo 4 remains to be seen.
Diablo 4 will be released on June 6, 2023 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows via the Blizzard client.
