For several weeks now, the 8th season of Diablo 4 has been running, and it has received mixed to not-so-good feedback from fans. Blizzard has already confirmed that the season will not last as long as usual. Now there is a specific time announcement.
This is what Blizzard announced:
- On May 15, Community Manager Adam Fletcher announced that season 8 will be shorter than seasons usually are.
- This is meant to compensate for the extended season 7 and to be able to return to the old rhythm.
- Shortly thereafter, there were new details about the upcoming season 9, directly with the PTR – and a very unmistakable hint in the game.
When does season 8 end now? In the current battle pass of season 8, it states how much longer you have to finish the pass. This was discovered by Icy Veins. If you open the free reliquary “Belial’s Resurrection”, you will see that there are still 36 days remaining (as of May 26).
This corresponds to an end exactly on June 30, 2025, and fits the announced start of season 9. That is supposed to be in “July”, still without a specific date. However, since Diablo usually does not have a long transition between seasons, July 1 would be the conceivable date for the start.
The fact that the hint about the end is hidden in the battle pass represents a certain irony for some players, as it is one of the reasons why the season is not going over very well.
“Bring back the old battle pass”
With season 8, Blizzard has introduced a new battle pass into the game. Instead of grinding through all rewards linearly, you can now unlock “reliquaries” to receive targeted rewards. There is still a free path, but it is significantly scaled back.
Fairly early on, fans calculated that the new battle pass actually costs more and delivers less, unless you pay nothing at all. Then you might get a little more from the new system. Interestingly, Reddit already has demands for the old system.
Moreover, the new season mechanic is failing in many games. The boss powers and their event are just rebranded legions events, which many already found too tedious and not worthwhile enough to engage with. The consensus in many areas is that season 8 does not maintain the fun of the game for long.
Additionally, alongside the new battle pass, there are further experiments. Diablo 4 has become slower and more difficult since season 8 – which may be frustrating at times, but is particularly well received by veterans: Diablo 4 now ‘feels like the old Diablo’, say dads and praise the criticized season 8
