2024 was a good year for Diablo 4, and the latter half brought forth some of the game's strongest moments. The arrival of its first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, introduced a brand-new class with the Spiritborn and an exciting new location with Nahantu. Despite these successful additions, Diablo 4 has found itself in some serious competition with the anticipated arrival of Path of Exile 2 in early access.
Although Diablo 4 has the benefit of being a more streamlined action-RPG that allows for different skill levels, Path of Exile 2 is a good option for gamers who crave a more hardcore experience. Even in early access, Path of Exile 2 has been received really well by players, and if Diablo 4 wants to keep up with this fresh competition it needs to kick the year off strong by announcing its next expansion sooner rather than later.
Diablo 4 Has The Perfect Blueprint For a New Pet in Season 7
With Season 7 of Diablo 4 quickly drawing closer, the upcoming chapter is laying the groundwork for an obvious new pet addition.
Diablo 4 Needs to Reignite Hype With a Fresh Expansion
While the start of 2024 was solid for Diablo 4, the first trailer for Vessel of Hatred that was released over the summer marked the start of a stronger latter half. Once the first trailer for the DLC dropped, a lot of fresh attention was pointed toward Diablo 4, and announcing the next expansion would only bring forth new hype.
Vessel of Hatred was confirmed almost a full year before it finally launched in October 2024, and with no official news on Diablo 4's next story DLC, it would be in Blizzard's best interest to act fast. Diablo 4 may have ended the year on a good note, but Path of Exile 2 has taken some of the excitement that could greatly benefit the former.
At the time of this writing, Path of Exile 2 boasts a "very positive" review score on Steam.
Riding the Wave of Vessel of Hatred's Success
Many Diablo 4 players spent the year waiting for Vessel of Hatred to finally launch. However, with no indication of Diablo 4's next big expansion being on the horizon, a lot of players don't have anything huge to look forward to. Of course, there is the impending Season 7 that is expected to begin in late January, but there needs to be more.
A powerful way to kick off the year would be to reassure players that there are big things on the way that can keep many excited. Season 7 is promising some exciting additions to the game, but a full-blown expansion reveal would be even better. Granted, launching Season 7 shortly after Path of Exile 2's early access release is another strong way to regain some of that attention, but going even bigger and better with its planned content could really give Diablo 4 a special edge.
Vessel of Hatred was announced at BlizzCon 2023 in November and officially released on October 8, 2024.
The Next Expansion for Diablo 4 Remains a Mystery
As of now, what the next Diablo 4 expansion entails is a complete mystery. With excitement for Season 7 of Diablo 4 mounting, dropping news of a future expansion at the season's release would be a welcome update, but only time will tell if that's the case. Until then, Vessel of Hatred continues to be a strong upgrade that brings a compelling and unique class to the game. Diablo 4 will hopefully be able to capture lightning in a bottle twice with another fresh class in the next big DLC, but that may be easier said than done.
Whatever Diablo 4's future plans are, it's likely that Blizzard is analyzing the best methods to set itself apart from Path of Exile 2 in a way that helps it come out on top. With Path of Exile 2's impressive state early on, it will be tough competition, but it will also be exciting to watch unfold.
Diablo 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Diablo
- Number of Players
- 1-2 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- File Size Xbox Series
- 158.25 GB
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 players (console only)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
