Blizzard was one of the studios that took over the The Game Awards 2025 stage tonight with its announcement, which was the reveal for Diablo IV's next major expansion, Lord of Hatred, which is due to arrive on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S this coming April 28, 2026.
Lord of Hatred follows the game's last major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, and is "the climax of the Age of Hatred," according to a press release. Players must fight back the forces of Mephisto as they now have the run of the Sanctuary, and players will be pulled towards an ally they can't trust, but will have to work with.
The expansion adds two new classes, a Paladin class (which is actually available now for pre-order customers) and a second class that has yet to be revealed. It also adds a new region of Skovos, a reworked skill tree, a new loot filter, enhanced crafting, a new powerful talisman, and player-driven war plans.
When Blizzard announced its roadmap for 2025 this past April, this expansion arriving in 2026 was one of the final updates the studio had already set in stone, including a new ranking system, leaderboards, and more that Blizzard wasn't ready to share at the time. Hopefully, we'll hear more about its 2026 plans soon.
Wccftech's Alessio Palumbo reviewed Vessel of Hatred when it arrived in October 2024, at the time writing, "Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred is a solid expansion that is perhaps not heavy on content but more than makes up for it with many systemic changes that will elevate the whole game for years to come."
For all of our coverage of The Game Awards 2025, check out our hub page here.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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