Improvements rolled through over the years for almost every aspect, and this expansion, coinciding with a free update, promises to be the most sweeping yet. And while there are some positive aspects, the expansion leaves me in the same spot as it did all those years – wanting, waiting for it deliver a better experience, rather than simply bolting on more systems and hitting those monthly active player counts. The expansion features a new end-game “activity” (heavy emphasis on the quotes), alongside odd additions (fishing) and actual, meaningful gameplay changes.

"For every impressively rendered cutscene, there are so many moments where you’re rooted in place, having to listen to a character drone on and on, then click on them for a dialogue option to trigger a cutscene. And no amount of skipping can fix that."

But above all, it’s about Mephisto, and if you’re already beyond caring about the plot, the expansion will do little to change your mind. Reuniting with Lorath Nair following discoveries made by Neyrelle, the Wanderer ventures to Skovos to stop the Primeval and his latest plan, which involves garnering the support of the people, including the Amazons, and harnessing an eclipse for some unknown purpose.

If you rolled a “world-ending scenario,” that’s a natural 20. Despite all of it, and even with reliable performances from the likes of Ralph Ineson, the plot really lurches along until you’re reunited with you-know-who, the explanation about as reasonable as “Somehow, Palpatine returned.”

Unfortunately, this whole cyclical nature of hatred isn’t something Blizzard is really keen on exploring, much less psychoanalysing but the current villain must be stopped because.

And doing that requires hunting down three pieces of a blade and stabbing him, lickity split, no fuss, no muss. Of course, it also doesn’t help that, once again, this doesn’t feel like much of the Wanderer’s story. Just that one is sidling along and partaking in events as they happen with the ever-nagging feeling that maybe we shouldn’t have killed the big bad all those years ago.

Anyway, by now, you’re probably wondering why I’m so held up by the story and the direction. Leaving aside that the above are really the only interesting parts about expansion’s plot, I can empathize with those who are only here to blast through monsters and earn sick loot. Who cares about the campaign when you’re going to clear it once and forget about it after?

Well, therein lies the problem, just as with the base game and Vessel of Hatred. The campaign is about eight hours long, and that’s by design. Blizzard really wants to linger on this story and characters, to the point where it hampers the pacing. For every impressively rendered cutscene, there are so many moments where you’re rooted in place, having to listen to a character drone on and on, then click on them for a dialogue option to trigger a cutscene. And no amount of skipping can fix that.

"We might as well get fishing out of the way first, since it’s the most straightforward. While starting as a side quest, it opens up the ability to fish anywhere in the world and add those catches to your collection."

It can be made more succinct – heck, there are several places where it is, as seen in the final hour or so – but despite how terse some of the situations are, Blizzard opts for verboseness. As a result, there’s much ado about nothing through the majority of this campaign, save for going somewhere to engage in almost as much rudimentary conversation as monster slaying.

Is it an improvement over Vessel of Hatred? It’s not saying much, but yes, and much of that can be attributed to the final boss, which is perhaps one of the best yet, balancing spectacle with interesting mechanics. I was gobsmacked throughout this whole encounter – by Diablo 4 standards, of course – especially given most of the standard fare that the rest of the expansion had to offer. There are some other cool moments in the story, and for once, Blizzard chose not to overtly push future threats for the sake of setting up its seasons.

Of course, that’s only one aspect of the Diablo 4 experience – the other, and one that players will be more interested in, is the endgame, specifically, War Plans, fishing and Echoing Hatred.

We might as well get fishing out of the way first, since it’s the most straightforward. While starting as a side quest, it opens up the ability to fish anywhere in the world and add those catches to your collection. The actual “mechanics” of it offer little more than opening the emote wheel – almost like Blizzard is mocking me at this point, given my severe dislike of quests that require it – and selecting “Fish.” From there, you wait till a catch bites and press the button at the right time.

Fish can be traded for high-level items and materials, and there are even dedicated challenges and cosmetic sets. Think of it as more of a side activity than anything else – something to complement the monster slaying.

Echoing Hatred, where you face endless hordes of progressively difficult enemies (and net better rewards depending on how long you survive), requires an exceedingly rare item that simply hasn’t dropped for me yet. There’s something to be said about endgame activities with high barriers to entry, but when you’ve advertised one as a major selling point for a $40 expansion, you would at least think that a free sample is due. A taste for what players can expect, but alas, there’s none of that here, so keep grinding away and hoping that it drops before Blizzard inevitably caves and either buffs the drop rate or offers a way to craft them.

"As you complete activities, you’ll earn skill points for distinct passive trees that can result in things such as Hellwyrms unleashing Chaos Rifts in Helltides, or the chance to fight two Initiate bosses after opening a Lair Boss’s chest. These don’t dramatically alter the activities in question."

Don’t worry, though, because you’ll be grinding out some very familiar activities courtesy of War Plans. The joke before expansion’s launch about how this is little more than a playlist of the current slate of endgame offerings, from a run in The Pit to completing a Nightmare Dungeon, isn’t exactly a joke. Granted, these are adjusted to more adequately fit a series of activities rather than standing on their own, so a Nightmare Dungeon will have more streamlined objectives. Which is all the more hilarious because trying to garner enough Aether for the alternate boss fight becomes much more challenging, though not downright impossible. Likewise, Helltides requires gathering enough Aberrant Cinders to open two chests and then dipping.

You’re rewarded after every activity completion and then receive a final reward once the entire War Plan is complete. Then you do it again. It’s not purely “play what you want” – there is some freedom in choosing different nodes, but the chances of outright avoiding the Undercity or not partaking in Helltides are very low, especially as the War Plans facilitate up to five activities in a row.

As you complete activities, you’ll earn skill points for distinct passive trees that can result in things such as Hellwyrms unleashing Chaos Rifts in Helltides, or the chance to fight two Initiate bosses after opening a Lair Boss’s chest. These don’t dramatically alter the activities in question – more like adding some bells and whistles, a major cut below the Atlas Tree in Path of Exile. Despite slightly spicing up these activities, it doesn’t feel like something befitting a paid expansion such as this. Also, I’m baffled why this system doesn’t include World Bosses or Legion Events. Perhaps coordinating those is too challenging, even if it would have helped the variety.

Nevertheless, you’ll spend a decent amount of time farming War Plans for new Seals and Horadric Cube materials. The latter can be used for a variety of things, from upgrading Rare loot to Legendaries (offering a decent power spike on new characters), adding new modifiers on existing gear at the cost of making it unmodifiable, transmuting three of the same item into a new one, and so on. And while I can appreciate being able to reroll the value of an Ancestral Unique’s core power or to remove Affixes, it doesn’t change the simplicity of the crafting system, nor really encourage much else beyond tossing in a relatively complete Ancestral, be it Unique or Legendary, and transfiguring (or “corrupting”) it for one last modifier.

"On the bright side, the two new classes are lots of fun. I spent the most time with Paladin, becoming Arbiter Andy, walking around and decimating enemies with Wing Strikes (which proved so good that I think the increased damage modifier has been outright removed from Tempering)."

You’re not going to brick the item or make it disappear, but in the same vein, the results thus far have left me wanting. It’s complimentary and definitely has its uses – all my fellow Jah Rune searchers, our time has come – and if you’ve ever wanted to craft a Common item from the ground up into something, then you can. But you could also just blast through the rest of the game and bathe in the loot explosions. It’s a process that, like the whole “unmodifiable” business, doesn’t really gel with what Diablo 4 is trying to offer.

Then again, at this point, I don’t quite know if Diablo 4 is trying to gel with what Diablo 4 is after, and nowhere is that more obvious than with the addition of the Talisman. You can equip a Seal that opens up several Charm Slots, letting you fit up to six (though you’ll be spending a lot of time with five for a while). While there are Magic, Rare and Unique Charms to equip, each with their own stats and benefits, Set bonuses also make a return, and once again, they’re going to railroad you into their bonuses to augment a specific playstyle.

I found that the Epiphany Set could suit one purpose of my Arbiter build, essentially giga-buffing the Ultimate to obscene levels for a short period while heavily reducing its cooldown. But on the other hand, the Iron Conviction set fed more into the aura playstyle, heavily improving survivability and making all those additional aura skill levels useful. Like the Cube, it’s complementary on top of your current build, but the very nature of the Set bonuses means they’ll dictate the meta rather than exist outside of it. And of course, each Charm has its own Ancestral version, because why not add another layer of RNG on top of everything else?

On the bright side, the two new classes are lots of fun. I spent the most time with Paladin, becoming Arbiter Andy, walking around and decimating enemies with Wing Strikes (which proved so good that I think the increased damage modifier has been outright removed from Tempering). While not too well-versed with the Warlock at present, I found its take on the summoner playstyle, which involved bringing in brutes and hurling bodies at enemies within a summoning circle to translate kills into more minions, to be chaotically enjoyable.

If you needed any impetus to pick up the expansion, it’s probably these two, because, for what it’s worth, Diablo 4’s base combat still feels viscerally enjoyable. I don’t have much to say about Skovos, save for the fact that it’s a gorgeous location, and once again, the art team at Blizzard continues to carry this property through thick and thin. It’s matched by the sound design and music teams – the former ensures that every single impact of the Paladin’s Falling Star feels weighty while the latter adds an air of almost Greek mythology to the region’s tunes.

"However, at this point, almost three years later, Diablo 4 still struggles to resonate with me. The ingredients are seemingly there, but the design decisions and overall endgame loop continue to disappoint, with War Plans feeling like little more than a band-aid fix to try and string them all together."

Diablo 4’s open world design, where you’re flitting from one place to the next on a mount, partaking in the same random world events on repeat, is what it is at this point. I’m not a fan, but at least Skovos feels less sprawling and more compact in its design, which means less travel time.

I would have loved to end this review by saying that this expansion is simply more Diablo 4, and that if you love the base game, then you’ll probably like this. Content-wise, that definitely holds, especially with the new classes, and there have been enough systemic changes in this latest update that lapsed players will want to come back and at least play around with all the systems.

However, at this point, almost three years later, Diablo 4 still struggles to resonate with me. The ingredients are seemingly there, but the design decisions and overall endgame loop continue to disappoint, with War Plans feeling like little more than a band-aid fix to try and string them all together. Maybe with the Hatred saga over and done with, the feeling of hope for the future will result in something, anything innovative or meaningful for the game as a whole. As it currently stands, however, it begets little more than a feeling of what could have been.

This expansion was reviewed on PC.

“We think Lord of Hatred is the best Diablo 4 has ever been — we think of it as the ultimate expression of the game,” said Haroutunian. Finer spoke about how the expansion was a labor of love for the development team, and how many of its features are essentially love letters to fans of the franchise.

“One hundred percent,” said Finer when asked about Lord of Hatred being Diablo 4 at its best. “So many of the features are a love letter to Diablo and its players. It’s been a huge labor of love from the team. We’ve been playing the game constantly internally; it’s been so easy to lose yourself in the flow state of grinding War Plans, using the map overlay to efficiently navigate every level, and using the loot filter to make ultra-endgame items pop.”

While Lord of Hatred is bringing quite a bit of content with it, like the returning Horadric Cube, the expansion will also introduce refinements to pre-existing systems, like Diablo 4‘s runes. On the subject, Finer spoke about how there were some runes that were just too powerful for the game. This has led to the removal of some of the stronger ones from the game.

“In general, we found that there were extreme outliers (both too weak and way too powerful) that were dominating the system and shrinking the build diversity too much,” explained Finer. “Additionally, with the Cube, we’ve made it easier than ever to hunt for the runes you’re looking for. So we’re attacking this problem from both sides: editing down the list with build variety in mind, and giving you more options to obtain the runes you want. Long-term, runes are a place we want to continue to evolve, especially with the Cube now in the mix.”

As for the Cube itself, he also noted that it can be used with recipes as many times as the player might want, as long as they have the required materials. In general, the Horadric Cube was meant to introduce more depth to Diablo 4‘s crafting system. This also means that there are a few high-risk recipes in the game.

“However, there are a few higher-risk recipes — like Transfiguration — which have incredible outcomes, but also terrible ones,” he said. “Have a mediocre item with great potential? Transfigure it. You might even find that you’re able to transfigure it multiple times. Have a near-perfect item? Slot an Entropic Tuning Prism into the Transfigure recipe to minimize the risk — but also the reward.”

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred will expand on the story of Mephisto when it finally comes out on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. For more, take a look at the gameplay showcase, which features combat, a boss fight, and the region of Skovos. Also, check out our thoughts on how the expansion signifies a new approach to leveling.

Noting that industry veteran Drew Murray has been working as an associate design director at Blizzard since January 2026, Corden went on to discuss what the StarCraft shooter will look like, going by footage he got to see of an in-development build. “They’re putting together a bit of a dream team for the shooter,” he said. “So that has me excited on the one hand, but I’ll tell you what excited me was, honestly, just seeing StarCraft again. Seeing the Terrans and the Zerg and all that kind of stuff.”

“The realistic graphic style was also impressive. It wasn’t like, I mean, it was hard to tell from the video, but it was not the sort of stylized graphics of Overwatch or whatever, or StarCraft 2, even. It looked like they were going more for the StarCraft 2 cinematics than the more stylized stuff that Blizzard does. If Blizzard’s art style is on a scale, and you’ve got the realistic stuff of Diablo 4, and the stylized stuff of the Pixar style stuff of Overwatch, it did feel like the StarCraft shooter was way more towards the realism end of the scale.”

Corden went on to note that he wasn’t sure how early in development the game still was, with the footage potentially showcasing just a prototype. He affirmed that the game “will look a lot better at launch than what I saw.” As for when we might actually get an official announcement on the project by Blizzard, he noted that the company has been teasing it by calling StarCraft one of its key pillars through swag that was part of a BlizzCon press kit. “So, clearly, they still see StarCraft as an important part of their business model,” he said.

While Murray’s joining Blizzard had been confirmed by the developer’s own LinkedIn page, his involvement with the StarCraft shooter was rumored thanks to another report by Corden from earlier this month.

Another report has indicated that Blizzard might not be making the game by itself. “Evidence” has indicated that the company is working alongside South Korean developer Nexon to make the game, and that it had already begun its “full-scale development.” This partnership has seemingly involved Blizzard sending a team to Nexon’s Shooter Headquarters.

The last major entry in the StarCraft franchise was real-time strategy game StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void all the way back in 2015. It was the third chapter of a trilogy that began with Wings of Liberty in 2010. 2013’s Heart of the Swarm serves as its middle chapter. Since then, Blizzard has continued to support the title with sporadic balance updates and content drops, and eventually even made the base game free for those who might be interested in checking out the Wings of Liberty campaign or the multiplayer modes.

Murray’s LinkedIn confirms that he’s been working at Blizzard since last January as an associate design director. “I’ve heard that he’s working on the StarCraft shooter. Don’t know if it’s true or if he’s working on something else, but he is at Blizzard, and I have heard he’s working on that,” said Corden. Of course, Murray is also known for working at Insomniac Games on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and an unannounced project, so he’s fairly well-versed in triple-A development.

The project was first rumored in September 2024 by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who claimed that former Far Cry veteran Dan Hay was in charge. It was in the “very early stages” of development at the time, and while its current status is unknown, Blizzard posted a listing for Lead Designer, Innovation on a “AAA shooter.” Experience with Unreal Engine is one of the requirements, and given the sheer experience on the engine at Xbox Game Studios, it isn’t out of the question.

Of course, we don’t know if it’s connected to the rumored StarCraft shooter apparently in the works at Nexon. Time will tell, and with BlizzCon coming in September, we may get an announcement in due time. Microsoft could even take the covers off at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7th (if it doesn’t mind stealing any thunder from Gears of War: E-Day or Halo: Campaign Evolved, that is). Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.

The opening’s quite interesting, with your character and Lorath infiltrating the ranks of a cult that’s almost blindly devoted to one of Mephisto’s many forms. He’s clearly using them as a route to power, and he can be quite charming when he wants to be. However, those tactics don’t work on you, and you’re going to be battling his forces on a ship before confronting him directly. That culminates in a boss battle against a deadly monster created from one of the cult’s acolytes.

Lord of Hatred is probably quite high on your list of priorities if you’re a Diablo fan. With the Warlock and Paladin being thrown into the mix alongside changes to how you’re going to be gaining levels making make progression a whole lot smoother for your character, this is an expansion that’s looking like a sublime blend of an interesting story and new mechanics. It’s coming to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC  on April 28th.

A new job posting for a Lead Designer, Innovation has gone up on the studio’s careers page, sparking speculation that it might finally be taking its rumored Starcraft project into development.

The posting lists several important details, including the fact that the project is a “AAA shooter” and that the job requires expertise working with Unreal Engine. That could be a giveaway considering the studio’s tendency to work with in-house engines, and the extensive experience requirement is a sign that the mystery project is a big one, and requires a seasoned hand at the helm of its design philosophies.

Putting all these together makes Starcraft a logical choice for the project, although nothing’s been officially confirmed at this point. We’d take this with a pinch of salt until an announcement from the studio. However, we’re the first to admit it’s hard not to hope for a new title in the sci-fi franchise after the long years of waiting for one. Time will reveal all, but until then, we’re keeping our fingers crossed… at least, until BlizzCon 2026, which runs from September 12th to 13th.

In a recent interview with various organizations reported on by Eurogamer, game director Colin Finer elaborated on a revised approach to levelling your characters that’s going to help players better familiarize themselves with their chosen classes.

“What the curve is going to look like is today, you get through one to 20, one to 25, really quick. It’s almost over in a second. What we’re doing is front-loading a lot of the monster cleaning you do early, so it’s slower early, but then in the later levels, it’s much less…The thought is you’re going to have a lot more skills at your disposal, you’re going to be killing way more monsters, and we want that to be snappy and more evenly paced throughout.”

It’s a solid way to ensure that you get to spend time with a class while gradually accruing more skills in a way that lets you commit them to muscle memory and truly embody them in a way that’s uniquely yours. The new level cap ensures that you keep evolving even as you go higher up the ladder. If you’ve been thinking about taking the Paladin or Warlock along for your journey through the expansion, you’re probably going to enjoy getting to know them better than you would have before this change.

The announcement follows the studio potentially mulling over further additions to Diablo 2: Resurrected if the Warlock manages to make enough of an impression among fans. Either way, it’s looking like a very good time to be a Diablo fan, and we’re itching to take the fight to Mephisto when Lord of Hatred drops on April 28th.

Built from the ground up for mobile devices, it offers 4v4 matches with familiar characters like Reinhardt, Mercy, Tracer and Soldier 76. Testing is currently available in select regions, and there’s no date for when others will gain access, or even an official release date.

Blizzard wouldn’t even outline all the content available, though King of the Hill and Busan are at least confirmed based on the early gameplay. Even more content and events will be added over time, but the development team is also looking to the community for feedback on newer features. That includes monetisation since this is a free-to-play title with “optional” purchases.

And unlike, say, Diablo: Immortal, Overwatch Rush isn’t coming to PC. Stay tuned for more details, and don’t worry – Overwatch (sans the 2) is being handled entirely by Team 4, with the mobile title not impacting development in any way. The hero shooter recently had a huge comeback following the introduction of five new heroes, and even more is coming as part of the revamped seasonal plan.

We see her early days spent under the affectionate tutelage of her father, before the forces of the void shatter their bond. While plagued by memories of that fateful day, they only serve to fuel her determination to never fall prey to the darkness that the Void brings, steadfast in her faith that the Light protects her from the corrupting influence of the shadow.

Midnight picks up right where The War Within left off, with Xal’atath’s invasion of Azeroth set to bring a lot of conflict and new gameplay to the table. The ability to build your own house in Azeroth is definitely something we’re pretty excited about, and that’s also the case for a slew of new additions to the Quel’Thalas region and more dynamic encounters in the open world. There are also new Delves, dungeons, raids, and more streamlined player progression systems to look forward to.

You can check out the cinematic below as you sharpen your blades and your skills for Midnight’s impending launch on March 2nd.