Diablo 4 has launched Season 8, marking the beginning of a series of free updates that will eventually lead into the game's highly anticipated second expansion, set to release in 2026. However, despite these developments, the core community of Diablo 4, known for its passion and dedication, is expressing dissatisfaction. These veteran players, who engage with the game week after week, meticulously craft meta builds, and are always on the lookout for new challenges, are vocal about their desire for significant new features, reworks, and innovative gameplay mechanics.
While Diablo 4 boasts a diverse player base that includes casual gamers who enjoy the straightforward thrill of monster-slaying, it's the committed core community that forms the backbone of the game's ecosystem. Their feedback and expectations play a crucial role in shaping the game's future. Thus, it's not surprising that the recently unveiled 2025 roadmap for Diablo 4, the first of its kind from Blizzard, faced immediate backlash. Upon the roadmap's release, the community voiced concerns about the planned content for 2025, including Season 8, questioning whether there would be enough fresh material to keep them engaged.
Diablo 4's 2025 roadmap touches on 2026. Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
The online discourse grew so intense that a Diablo community manager felt compelled to address the concerns directly in a main thread on the Diablo 4 subreddit. They explained, "We added fewer details to the later parts of the roadmap to accommodate for things the team is still working on. This isn't all that's coming in 2025 :)." Even Mike Ybarra, the former president of Blizzard Entertainment and a high-ranking executive at Microsoft, joined the conversation, offering his perspective on the matter.
Season 8 introduces not only these considerations but also a set of controversial changes. One of the most significant alterations is the adjustment to Diablo 4's battle pass, designed to align more closely with the model used in Call of Duty. This change allows players to unlock items in a non-linear fashion. However, the battle pass now offers less virtual currency than before, which means players have fewer resources to invest in future battle passes.
In an extensive interview with IGN, Diablo 4's lead live game designer, Colin Finer, and lead seasons designer, Deric Nunez, addressed the community's reaction to the roadmap. They confirmed plans to update Diablo 4's skill tree, a feature long requested by players, and provided insights into the rationale behind the battle pass modifications.
