Diablo IV’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, arrived a year and change after the game launched. That won’t be the case for its next big content drop, however. Franchise boss Rod Ferguson revealed at DICE Summit 2025 in Las Vegas this week that Diablo IV’s second expansion will be arriving sometime in 2026.
“In 2025, or just before Season 8, we will have a 2025 roadmap for Diablo 4,” he said during his talk at the event on February 12, according to IGN. “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.”
Blizzard’s original plan was to launch a new expansion every year, hitting a cadence similar to Destiny 2 in its early years. But Vessel of Hatred slipped by six months, due to needing to address bug fixes and community feedback, and the ongoing work of maintaining a live game has seemingly continued to push that original schedule back.
According to those who attended, Ferguson’s talk outlined the Diablo IV team’s experience launching and continuing to build on an online game in the modern era. The game’s infamous 1.1 patch filled with nerfs became a teaching moment for the team, with developers trying to promote the game being fun rather than just policing broken builds and OP exploits.
The veteran producer also suggested that live-service developers opt for transparency over trying to surprise fans with unexpected mechanics or new content overhauls. He pointed to both public test servers that preview the upcoming season’s big changes and broad roadmaps as ways to build player trust and also boost engagement.
Diablo IV season 8 is currently set to go live in April, at which point Blizzard will release a roadmap outlining what players can expect for the rest of 2025. And even if the second big expansion isn’t on it, I’m sure we’ll at least start to get teases for what comes next later in the year.
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