On October 17, Diablo 4 will begin its second season. It is already known that the game is set to receive annual expansions. YouTuber and “Diablo 4” expert Rhykker has taken up the rumors and shared some astonishing insights.
Blizzard plans to release annual expansions for Diablo 4. This was confirmed by Blizzard’s Franchise Manager Rod Fergusson in an interview with Dexerto in September. The DLCs are supposed to complement the quarterly seasons, with the second starting on October 17.
YouTuber and Diablo 4 expert Rhykker has now compiled hints in a video that the community won’t have to wait much longer for the new expansion: According to Rhykker, the expansion is not only in development but already ready for intensive playtesting.
Rhykker discovers 2.0 version on Blizzard servers
The update in the Content Delivery Network
On what is Rhykker’s prediction based? According to Blizztrack, one of Blizzard’s internal testing environments for Diablo 4 has been updated to version 2.0. Blizztrack pulls data from Blizzard’s internal “Content Delivery Network” (CDN).
What are content delivery networks?
CDNs are networks of regionally distributed and internet-connected servers. They provide storage and delivery capacities based on high-traffic infrastructure. In the case of gaming companies like Blizzard, CDNs are used, for example, to deploy patches or provide expansions for playtesting.
Rhykker has gone through the past updates and found that the alphas, server tests, and beta weekends can be combined with corresponding version updates on Blizztrack. These were pre-launch versions with numbers like 0.9. The launch version was 1, while the game is currently running on version 1.1.4.
It is absolutely uncommon to adjust the major version prefix for small patches and bug fixes. An update to 2.0, therefore, indicates a relatively large content and version jump. Diablo 3 was only updated to version 2.0.1 with its first DLC.
Rhykker concludes from the update to 2.0 that the first DLC is far enough along in development that an early version is ready for first playtests by selected individuals.
A look into the past
Below, Rhykker goes through the expansions for Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 and their contents:
- Diablo 2 was expanded with Lord of Destruction a year after its release. New content included Act 5, two new classes, and a lot of new features.
- The expansion Reaper of Souls for Diablo 3, on the other hand, was released two years after the launch of the main game. This expansion also brought a fifth act for the story, the adventure mode, and the loot drop was revised. Unfortunately, the expansion only added a new class. The release was also the console launch of the game.
- According to a leaked product portfolio, a second expansion codenamed “The King in the North” for Diablo 3 was planned. Features that were already in development for this were ultimately released via patches and DLCs.
In light of the fact that previous expansions took one or two years in development and the fact that game development today takes longer than it used to, Rhykker expects a less extensive expansion than the Reaper of Souls for Diablo 3.
Accordingly, he expects the following features:
- About 25% more content for the game, including a new story, analogous to the fifth act for Diablo 2 and Diablo 3
- a new class
- A map expansion
- New skills for existing classes
- A counterpart to Kanai’s Cube
- Rune words
The YouTuber also notes that the points addressed by him may also come via patches or seasons.
Rhykker’s story and map predictions
In addition to his general speculation about the release date and the scope of the first expansion, Rhykker also has suggestions on how the story and world map of Diablo 4 could evolve.
Caution Spoilers: Below are slight spoilers for the main story of Diablo 4. After the second yellow box, it continues spoiler-free.
For Rhykker, it makes the most sense if the world map of Diablo 4 is expanded south of the currently playable continent – rather than east. On the one hand, it is sensible to stay in the same lands and not in areas visited in earlier Diablo games. On the other hand, he expects the next major opponent here: Mephisto.
Mephisto was still in Act 3 of Diablo 2 in Kurast. The area is located directly south of the currently playable Diablo 4 world map. In addition, the character Neyrelle enters a ship towards the end of the game. Due to the current story implications, the YouTuber assumes she is traveling to Kurast.
Lastly, he theorizes that the first expansion could end with the resurrection of Diablo himself.
Caution Spoilers – End: From here on, it continues spoiler-free.
As a new class, he suspects a Diablo 4 equivalent of a paladin. Why that is very likely, MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus explains:
So when does Rhykker expect the expansion for Diablo 4?
Due to the availability of a version 2.0 for Diablo 4, Rhykker suspects the release as early as summer 2024. Accordingly, he also expects major announcements at the Blizzcon 2023.
A drop of bitterness: Past expansions for Diablo games have polished and improved the respective base game. However, Diablo 4 was only released on June 5, 2023. An expansion that is already in a test-ready state four months later will not be able to comprehensively consider the collected community feedback, according to Rhykker.
Are you satisfied with Diablo 4 so far? Is there a feature you think an expansion must definitely include? Share your wishes in the comments.
By the way, Elon Musk recently announced a Diablo 4 speedrun and streamed it on X:
Gamers react to Elon Musk’s Diablo 4 livestream: “This wasn’t on my list”
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