While there are still plenty of concerns about the future of Blizzard and its IPs, there was a lot to look forward to today at BlizzCon, as the convention highlighted many things that gamers could look forward to in the times to come. But what many were looking forward to the most was any insight into the future of Diablo IV. The game took quite some time to arrive, but when it launched, it was everything that fans hoped it would be and more. The graphics were dark, the world was brutal yet fun, and there were many things to do in it.
But, as fans know, a game like this is only as good as the expansions that help keep it going. To that end, Blizzard announced Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, which will be the first official expansion for the game. The bad news is that the expansion won’t arrive until late 2024, so you won’t be playing it for quite some time. However, to tide gamers over, they provided some small teases of what’s to come, and the teaser trailer alone does highly certain things the expansion will build on:
If you can’t tell, the teaser trailer’s “narrator” is Mephisto, and he’s musing about what’s going on in Sanctuary and how things will change because of him. If you’re not familiar with the lush area we see in the trailer, that would be the Kurast region of the world. Longtime fans will recognize this place as it was featured in the second game in the series. So, if nothing else, this expansion is bringing back some of what was “lost” in games past.
While we don’t know much outside of this, Blizzard did hint at some things, and some data miners went to work and attempted to learn more where they could. For example, like expansions in the past, there will be a new class added to the game for players to try out; according to the data miners, that will be a “Spiritborn,” which likely will focus on characters using spirits of some kind to make attacks or drain their foes.
They also confirmed that a Holiday event is coming next month. It’ll be called “Midwinter Blight” and will start on December 12th, so be on the lookout for more details on that.
In the end, while there won’t be “speedy’ expansions coming to the game, despite teases from Blizzard that noted otherwise, you can at least take heart in knowing they’re coming.
