"Diablo 4's Next Expansion Delayed to 2026"

If you were eagerly anticipating a new expansion for Diablo 4 in 2025, you'll need to adjust your expectations. According to Rod Fergusson, the general manager of Diablo, the next major expansion won't be available until 2026.

During his speech at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, Fergusson outlined plans to enhance the game's community engagement by adopting strategies similar to those used for Diablo Immortal and World of Warcraft. This includes the release of content roadmaps. He announced that a roadmap detailing Diablo 4's 2025 plans, including seasons and updates, will be released soon. However, he made it clear that the next expansion will not be included on this roadmap, as it is scheduled for release in 2026.

"In 2025, or just before Season 8, we will have a 2025 roadmap for Diablo 4. Now, our second expansion won't be on that roadmap, because our second expansion is coming in 2026, but at least players will have the road ahead."

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Fergusson didn't delve deeply into the reasons for the delay of the second expansion, but he provided some insight earlier in his talk. Initially, Blizzard had planned for annual expansions, starting with Vessel of Hatred in 2024, followed by another in 2025. However, Vessel of Hatred ended up being released 18 months after Diablo 4's launch instead of the intended 12 months.

Fergusson explained that while the development team typically works a season or two ahead, responding to player feedback and making necessary adjustments to live content necessitated temporarily reallocating resources from Vessel of Hatred. This caused a slight internal delay and subsequently pushed back all other planned content.

Diablo 4 has just launched its Season of Witchcraft, which introduces new witchcraft powers, a fresh questline, and more. Our review of the base game awarded it a 9/10, praising it as "a stunning sequel with near perfect endgame and progression design that makes it absolutely excruciating to put down."