Players who have completed the Season 14 storyline in Diablo IV are receiving major hints about the future direction of Blizzard's ARPG, though those eagerly awaiting the return of Diablo himself might be somewhat disappointed.
Season 14, titled "Awakening of Death," sees players battling a death cult attempting to end the suffering Sanctuary has endured since Mephisto's defeat. Ultimately, players arrive at the Pandemonium Fortress, a location previously seen in Diablo II and the Diablo III expansion Reaper of Souls, where they confront the fallen angel Zerathis. After defeating Zerathis, he leaves behind an ominous warning: "He comes."
The so-called "he" is likely Malthael—the entity Zerathis served and the enemy players previously defeated in Reaper of Souls. Given this season's theme of "Death," this isn't too surprising, but the return of the Pandemonium Fortress (where Malthael last appeared and died) and Zerathis makes Blizzard's setup for future plotlines much clearer.
But there are even more clues for players to grasp. As analyzed by Diablo content creator LoatheBurger, after defeating Zerathis, players encounter a mysterious stranger who says there is no way to face death itself. When asked about his identity, the stranger simply replies, "I am no one, brave child. Even with your great strength, you are no one."
Later, when discussing this encounter with the quest giver Dannica, players can choose a dialogue option that reads, "There's something familiar about that old man," with the player character specifically noting that his voice sounds familiar.
This seems to imply he is someone Diablo IV players have encountered before, but the true identity of this stranger remains to be seen. Is it a long-lost Horadrim? Lorath, somehow returned from the dead? Or perhaps a major comeback for Deckard Cain? Only time will tell.
All of this taking place within the seasonal storyline is a new approach for Diablo IV. Previous seasons mostly featured standalone stories with little connection to the game's main narrative, and certainly weren't used to tease future expansions.
In an interview with GameSpot ahead of the launch of Season 14, Dan Tanguay, Live Service Design Director for Diablo IV, stated that creating a more direct connection between this season and the game's main storyline was a deliberate choice. He also mentioned that this season serves as an opportunity to engage more story-focused players.
"We know there's a group of players who are deeply invested in the lore and may be more interested in that than resetting their power levels to farm gear; they typically don't play seasonal content much. This time, we said, 'Since they got a nice conclusion to Mephisto's storyline, now is the perfect chance to see if we can bring them along on this journey.'"
After the conclusion of the Vessel of Hatred expansion, many players assumed Blizzard would begin teasing the return of Baal, the Lord of Destruction, or Diablo himself. It now appears that Malthael has taken center stage instead, but Blizzard still has multiple options regarding which core villain to bring back next.
Fortunately, players won't have to wait long to learn more about the future of Diablo IV, as BlizzCon is coming up on September 12–13. A Switch 2 version of Diablo IV might be announced then. Although Blizzard has already revealed some details about Season 15 (such as being able to use the same character each season and the return of classic Diablo items), more specifics will be unveiled at BlizzCon.