The official announcement of Diablo V at BlizzCon 2026 sparked mixed reactions among players: some cheered with excitement, while others felt deeply disappointed. This was because the confirmation of this surprise sequel meant that Diablo IV would no longer receive new expansions. Diablo IV currently has two expansions: Vessel of Hatred from 2024 and King of Hatred released this year. As Blizzard focuses its efforts on launching Diablo V as scheduled in spring 2029, no further expansions will be developed for the fourth installment. The game will continue to receive regular seasonal updates, such as the well-received nostalgic "Legacy of Hell" season, but large-scale expansions are officially off the table for Diablo IV.
Although not much has been revealed about Diablo V so far, one major departure from series tradition is the complete removal of towns and safe zones. This design aligns with the narrative premise: Diablo has already achieved victory in his war against humanity before the story begins. Despite such significant changes compared to previous titles, many Diablo fans have wondered why Blizzard decided to release a full sequel instead of continuing to produce more expansions for Diablo IV. Now, we finally have a clear answer.
In an interview with GameSpot, Matt Zitman, Executive Producer of Diablo V, stated that the decision to skip expansions in favor of a sequel stemmed from Blizzard's deep understanding of the Diablo community and player needs.
Zitman said, "Who are Diablo players? Why do they play Diablo? What do they want from a Diablo game? Understanding this was a crucial step in the early conceptual phase, even before considering questions like 'Should we make an expansion or a sequel? How should we do it?' The core lies in truly understanding our player base."
Building on this, Blizzard analyzed player reviews for Diablo IV, both positive and negative, and used this feedback to clarify the overall direction for the series. Zitman stated that the team realized "early on" that "achieving the game's goals required some deep structural changes," which were "frankly impossible to implement within an expansion."
More importantly—at least as I interpreted Zitman's remarks—Blizzard simply wanted to create a full-fledged game for Diablo, the "Lord of Terror" and central character celebrating his 30th anniversary. Zitman stated, "Diablo is the core antagonist of the series, a character whose story we wanted to explore in depth. We aimed to craft a narrative that rivals or even surpasses the arcs of Lilith and Mephisto, and telling such a story within an expansion felt inappropriate. He deserved his own dedicated game."
Of course, as part of the new seasonal questline, Diablo finally arrives in Sanctuary to wreak havoc in Diablo IV, but the overall stage still belongs to Lilith. While Diablo has appeared as the final antagonist in every entry of the series, he will become the absolute core of development in Diablo V, and I'm curious to see how this will deliver a different experience.