Blizzard has detailed its plans for Diablo IV’s in-game store, season pass and a wealth of post-launch content.

Diablo IV will be supported by an “army of developers” who will be working on new seasonal content for years to come, Blizzard said in yesterday’s new quarterly update: updates and new content will range from polish and quality features to significant new features, quests, enemies, items, live events, and of course season passes.

Diablo IV seasons will follow the Diablo III seasons: players will start each new season with a brand new character (existing characters will remain available in the “Eternal Realm”), but no items or gold from the previous season will be retained.

“We think it is important that players see that the game is changing in meaningful ways,” wrote co-op game director Joe Piepiora. “Each season will be released with a fresh new gameplay feature and questline that introduces new challenges, mysteries, and possibilities into the level-up experience.”

Seasonal live events could include things such as a weekend-long invasion or the arrival of a new, presumably passing trader. Season Journeys, familiar from Diablo III, will also return, offering timed rewards to players who complete specific tasks. Season Journeys are separate from Season Passes and are free to all players, but completing a Journey objective will grant progression in the Season Pass.

Season Passes will offer cosmetic items and premium currency during both free and paid reward paths.

Boosters that accelerate progression through the season will also be available in season passes, but as they affect gameplay, they will only be available on the free track – and while players can purchase season pass levels directly, this will not accelerate access to season pass boosts, as they are also tied to progression milestones. “In other words, there’s no way to shortcut getting season boosts by buying tiers,” said Kegan Clark, Diablo IV product director. “They must be earned.”

The premium currency earned in the season pass can be spent in Diablo IV’s item shop, but Blizzard reiterated that everything that can be purchased is strictly cosmetic. It also promised that the best-looking items – admittedly a subjective opinion – will not be available exclusively in the shop, although some themed items may be exclusive to certain Season Passes.

Diablo IV is still a long way off, but, understandably, Blizzard wants to allay concerns about monetisation systems as soon as possible.

The memories of Diablo III’s infamous real-money auction house are still vivid in the community, and Blizzard has faced some nasty backlash for the microtransactions in Diablo Immortal. But that game is free to play and is primarily focused on mobile platforms, where aggressive monetisation is more common and widely accepted (and has been a massive success as a result). On the other hand, Diablo IV will be a premium-priced release on PC and consoles for an audience that is more sensitive (and less forgiving) of such practices.

In fact, Blizzard has previously promised that Diablo IV will not be monetised like Diablo Immortal: when the in-game store was first mentioned back in June, Diablo boss Rod Fergusson was quick to post on Twitter to reassure impatient fans that…

… that the paid content it will offer will be “anchored around optional cosmetic items & full story driven expansions.”

“We intend to continue our dialog with players about Shop and Season Pass, and we’ll always listen and seek out the community’s feedback about it,” Clark wrote. “It is our sincerest belief that we can work together with the community to keep Diablo IV a living, evolving world for many years to come.”

Diablo IV is expected to arrive sometime in 2023.

Source: Blizzard