The 'Diablo IV' Vessel of Hatred expansion to release in 2024

BlizzCon 2023 has brought some exciting news for Diablo IV fans. The game’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, is set to release in 2024 and will continue the story of the main game. The expansion will feature the return of the Nahantu jungle area from Diablo II and introduce a brand-new character class. Blizzard is promising “new ways to play” and “new evils to vanquish,” too.

Before then, Diablo IV’s third season will feature a new kind of challenge dungeon called The Gauntlet. Here, you’ll fight against other players worldwide for your class ranking. And the first seasonal event for Diablo IV is called Midwinter Blight and will start on December 12, lasting for three weeks. Additionally, there will be a six-week endgame event called Abattoir of Zir starting on December 5.

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Gemma Chan joins 'Diablo IV' as a vampire hunter in Season 2

Diablo IV is bringing in a star from Eternals and Crazy Rich Asians to voice a new character in its second season. Gemma Chan will play Erys, a vampire hunter who helps players fight against a bloodthirsty menace. Erys is a key, non-player figure in the game’s story, guiding players through a dark fantasy world where they must face a vampire lord and restore balance to Sanctuary. You can see and hear her in the trailer above.

Chan’s involvement follows the live-action Diablo IV trailer, co-directed by her Eternals director Chloé Zhao, which came out in May. Season 1 of the game has been a huge success. According to Blizzard, it had 12 million players and 1.3 billion hours of playtime since its launch on June 6. Now, season 2 will be available on Oct. 17.

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Blizzard announces Hardcore mode contest for 'Diablo IV'

Image: Blizzard

Diablo IV’s Hardcore mode challenges players to reach level 100 without dying—and rewards the first 1,000 who do it with a place on a statue of Lillith. Blizzard announced the contest in a tweet, saying: “Think you can cheat death? Reach level 100 on hardcore mode and tweet #Diablo4Hardcore with proof to have your username immortalized on a statue of Lilith.”

Hardcore mode is the ultimate test of skill in Diablo—one death means losing your character forever. But if you can survive the horrors of Diablo IV and reach the level cap, you can earn a permanent spot on the statue of the game’s main villain.

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'Diablo IV' test build leaks gameplay footage

Yes, there are more gameplay leaks to report today. This time, it's Blizzard's upcoming Diablo IV game. A Reddit user going by iV1rus0 noticed footage of the game appearing on a file-sharing website and shared the said link. It contains gameplay spread across two clips that clocked in at 43 minutes. 

They look like footage from a Discord stream. The videos are watermarked, denoting these are from a private test build. Computer-moduleated voices in the video claim the viewers are tuning into a Skyrim session even if it clearly shows that the footage is from an early build of a Diablo game. Blizzard hasn't responded to the leak, but then sent out a PR advertising a confidential closed-end game beta. Perhaps trying to soften the blow of the leak. Diablo IV doesn't have a concrete release date yet, but it's expected sometime in 2023. Hopefully, the leak won't impact its development.

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