In a year when ARPGs are blowing up the gaming space, Diablo 4 has been oddly quiet for the franchise's status as the reigning ruler of the genre. With Path of Exile 2 and Last Epoch getting major new content drops, Diablo 4's roadmap for 2025 feels comparatively barren. However, despite a lackluster outline for the coming year, there may still be one area of hope for Diablo 4 fans looking to keep the game exciting until its next expansion releases.
Diablo 4 has been stuck in a tough situation since its first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, received a mixed reception upon release. Most players felt that Vessel of Hatred didn't add enough substantial content to justify its price, and the new storyline it introduced was underwhelming given its potential. While Diablo 4 initially promised a new major expansion every year after release, it seems the game will be skipping one in 2025 with the next expansion planned for 2026, leaving the game without a significant content update in the coming year.
Diablo 4 May Want to Take Notes from One Popular Game's Battle Pass
Diablo 4 may be adopting a more flexible Battle Pass with player-driven reward paths, so getting inspiration from one game could be worthwhile.
Diablo 4's New IP Collab Tease May Be the Most Exciting Part of Its Roadmap
Diablo 4's 2025 Roadmap Points to an Underwhelming Future
- Jan-Apr – Season of Witchcraft: New Armory, Whispers QoL Update
- Apr-Jul – Belial's Return: Lair Boss QoL, New Lair Bosses, Reliquaries, Season Journey Update, New IP Collab
- Jul-Sep – Sins of the Horadrim: New Nightmare Dungeon Activities, Console Keyboard and Mouse Support
- Sep-Dec – Infernal Chaos: New IP Collab
While each of the upcoming seasons for Diablo 4 seems to feature its own unique mechanics, such as Boss Powers coming next season, there isn't a whole lot else to get excited about in the coming year. Minor quality of life improvements are welcome, to be sure, but they are not major selling points that are going to be drawing players back into the game, especially when a competitor like Path of Exile 2 has just introduced a brand-new class.
The clear standout among the rather mundane features coming to Diablo 4 is the IP collabs teased for the Belial's Return and Infernal Chaos seasons. Diablo 4 is no stranger to crossovers with other Blizzard IPs, receiving a series of World of Warcraft-themed skins back in August 2024, but there are tons of potential collabs that could be even more exciting.
How Potential IP Collabs Could Be the Key to Diablo 4's Momentum in 2025
While specifics haven't been confirmed, there are a variety of different IPs that would be exciting to see get content in Diablo 4. One of the most likely candidates would be Overwatch 2, Blizzard's popular hero shooter that has already collaborated with Diablo 4 in the past on skins like Lilith Moira, Imperius Reinhardt, and Inarius Pharah. With Overwatch 2 getting several Diablo-themed skins, it would be great to see a collab that goes the other way and adds Overwatch-themed skins to Diablo 4.
Characters like Reinhardt, Reaper, and Mercy would all be great candidates for skin inspirations in Diablo 4, but the existence of two IP collabs on the roadmap means there's room for more than just an Overwatch crossover. Another great IP for Diablo 4 to collaborate with might be Doom: The Dark Ages, given that both Blizzard and Bethesda are now owned by Microsoft, and are known for their demon-slaying gameplay. Doom: The Dark Ages releases within the window of the first listed new IP collab on the Diablo 4 roadmap, so it wouldn't be out of the question to see the Doomslayer get a timely skin in Diablo 4.
Getting new skins based on other popular IPs is nice, but to really entice players to check out Diablo 4 during this downtime between major expansions, these collabs need to go beyond simple cosmetics. Bringing the worlds of franchises like Overwatch and Doom directly into the world of Sanctuary for limited-time quests or a new themed game mode would be a great way to make sure these collabs are ones players can't afford to miss. Taking a page out of Fortnite's book and incorporating an IP into the gameplay would take Diablo 4's collabs to a level that may help soften the blow of an otherwise disappointing 2025 roadmap.
Diablo 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
