Diablo 4 getting annual expansions is actually a good thing

Diablo 4 getting annual expansions was news we broke earlier this week. While many in the community are upset, it could ultimately be a good thing.

News broke this week that Diablo 4 would likely be getting annual expansions going forward. This came from comments by the franchise’s General Manager, Rod Fergusson in an interview where he talked about the future of Diablo 4 and how far that will stretch. 

I know this because I was the one in the room interviewing him. Truth be told, I didn’t even really realize what I’d heard until I was transcribing the audio afterward. This is why I didn’t dig further into it at the time. However, I knew it was noteworthy when it clicked. While we’ve had signs this is the way things would be going, with the previous word there were multiple expansions in the works, it was nice to have a confirmation. 

However, the community reaction has been strong since we published the quote. Some players have come out and called it “embarrassing”, with phrases like “money grab” thrown around. I do understand it to a degree. The monetization of live service games has been an increasing issue, especially as the cost of living inflates around the world. I also understand that to Diablo players who’ve been playing since the 90s, this is a franchise they love coming into stark contact with a modern market. 

However, I do think there are a lot of positives being glossed over in the conversation around the game. There’s nuance here, and there are benefits to an engaged community that could make it worthwhile. And look, before we get into it, I have to admit, I’m a Destiny 2 player. 

Diablo learning from Destiny is not necessarily a bad thing

Destiny 2 has loomed over this conversation like a spectre. It’s not hard to see why either. Quarterly seasons that lead to a bigger expansion roughly every year is a model out of Bungie’s playbook. For some, anything I say from here on forward will be hand-waived as me having Stockholm Syndrome for the model. I can’t really change that opinion. However, while I’ve been a deeply engaged Destiny 2 player since 2014, I’m currently in my longest time not playing. I’ve grown a bit tired of Bungie’s predictable seasons, (though I’m interested to see how they are shaking it up post-The Final Shape). That said, I also have the perspective of seeing the great qualities this ‘seasons-into-an-annual-expansion’ model has brought over the years.

Destiny 2, through that continued support, has improved vastly. The weapons are better, there are more options, there are lots of things to do to the point of being overwhelming, and while famously Bungie has an issue with sunsetting content, there’s a lot of history for a new player to jump in and experience. When Destiny 2 came out in 2017, that was not at all true. In time, this continued incentive for a developer to work on a game closely and intimately does create a superior product.

Perhaps best of all though, is that you can form your own communities of friends. My Destiny clan has become an integral part of my life, and while we have on-and-off times with the game, we all still speak daily. Whenever an expansion comes around, everyone comes back and puts time in for the following weeks. That’s always a highlight in my yearly gaming calendar. Getting two of those a year? That’s something to consistently look forward to.

The model keeps developers and the community engaged

Diablo 4 has already been laying the groundwork for the structure of its rollout with season releases. We’re in the midst of Season of the Malignant now, and Blizzard announced that Season of Blood is coming next. In reality, this road to annual expansions felt somewhat inevitable when we knew Diablo would be having three-month-long seasons. 

Malignant has been an alright holdover for those looking to continue to play and try out different things, but it’s not felt like it’s been a meaningful progression for the endgame of Diablo 4. It instead offers an alternate way to play, rather than a sense of broader momentum. 

However, with future seasons and continued support, their meaningfulness and content will adapt to community wants. These releases every three months or so keeps the live team at Blizzard focused and listening to the community. That’s why it’s important to air out grievances, which I do encourage. As someone who covers these live service games, that feedback does shape them – albeit, eventually. Inevitably different issues come up or bloat happens due to features being continually added, but it keeps both the community and developer engaged. 

The evolving world of Sanctuary

If not most, at least many will probably agree they had fun in the Diablo 4 campaign. Personally, I think Blizzard did a great job with it. It showed restraint in the villains it used, had some interesting nuance with Lilith, and felt like a well-handled next chapter for the franchise.

However, then we get to Season of Malignant. It doesn’t really offer a story to build out this universe and explore other aspects of it. It instead acts as more of a gameplay alternative to the base game. Ultimately the problem with seasons, at least for me, is they come with this sense of ‘starting over’. I’m not continuing the story of my Rogue who beat Lillith. We’re just milling around with another character for a couple of months. It makes it a little harder to get emotionally invested. 

An expansion, supposedly, will allow you to continue that original narrative. You’ll be able to bring things you earned forward and find out what’s happening in the universe of Diablo. What’s going on with Baal, Diablo, and Mephisto? That’s before you get into potentially adding new classes and the variety of gear on offer expanding too. Blizzard telling a longer-term story where you bring an adventurer through an evolving Sanctuary – for me, that’s what I want from Diablo 4. 

I want to see the story of Diablo 4 grow

Of course, the root of the issue with all of this is the monetization. If there was a pledge that all of this would be free, as well as skins from the store becoming earnable in-game, people would rejoice. 

However, we all know that’s likely not the case. Gaming can be an expensive hobby, especially if you keep up with these live-service titles. The value of an expansion, battle pass, or skin is going to be different for everyone. It depends on their situation or what they want from the game. I’ll never begrudge anyone for not wanting to continue to spend on a game they bought. Blizzard has obviously pushed this quite hard in the past too, especially with something like Diablo Immortal.

However, having been an engaged player in games with this kind of model, there are also benefits. The game will continue to be supported. It will improve. The issues facing the endgame will be ironed out as the developers have a vested interest in keeping people playing. They’ll be replaced with new problems, but that’s inevitable as improvement begets improvement. 

These expansions have to be good, of course, and the value has to feel worth it. Right now, we just have no indication as to what the size and scope of a ‘Diablo 4 expansion’ is. But conversely, this makes this backlash feel like it’s putting the cart before the horse – though, it’s understandable, as some players may have spent $20 on a skin for that horse.

Personally, if an expansion does launch next summer, count me excited to jump into Diablo 4 again. I had a great time with the initial launch experience. If we get a new chapter and we start picking up threads left by the current story, that’s what I want. The gap between Diablo 3 and Diablo 4 was enormous. Now, we’ll get a Blizzard who’s engaged in telling this story for years to come. Even if I’m not playing every season, I’ll certainly be up for jumping into a big expansion release every year or so with my pals. To me, that’s value enough.