Diablo 4 has launched its Season 8, marking the beginning of a series of free updates that will lead up to the game's second expansion, expected in 2026. However, the launch has stirred unrest among the game's core community, who are eager for substantial new features, game reworks, and innovative gameplay modes in this nearly two-year-old action role-playing game. These dedicated fans, who engage with the game week after week, meticulously craft meta builds and are vocal about their desire for Blizzard to deliver more engaging content.
It's perhaps unsurprising that the recently unveiled 2025 roadmap for Diablo 4, the first of its kind from Blizzard, has met with a backlash. Following the roadmap's release, the community voiced concerns over the planned content for 2025, including Season 8, questioning whether it's sufficient to maintain their interest. The debate escalated to the point where a Diablo community manager stepped in on the game's subreddit to address the feedback, stating, "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 former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, now a corporate executive at Microsoft, joined the discussion to offer his perspective.
Season 8, launched amidst this backdrop, introduces its own set of contentious changes. A significant modification to Diablo 4's battle pass aims to align it more closely with Call of Duty's model, allowing for non-linear item unlocking. However, this update reduces the amount of virtual currency players receive, making it more challenging to fund future battle passes.
In a comprehensive 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 the game's skill tree—a long-awaited feature by players—and explained the rationale behind the changes to the battle pass.
