Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred release date window, story, and latest news

If you can't wait for the first Diablo 4 expansion, Vessel of Hatred, we've got all you need to know about the release date and a first look.

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred : Mephisto and his demons

What is the Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred release date? As if the latest in the long-running series wasn’t big enough, it seems that there are not one but two upcoming expansions coming in the future, and that’s not counting the myriad of seasonal ladders we will experience soon.

We can draw on our knowledge of Diablo 4 as well as our attendance at Blizzcon 2023 to give you the latest news on the Diablo 4 DLC release date. Previous expansions have introduced new Diablo 4 classes to completely change the meta, new items to give us excitingly powerful Diablo 4 builds, and encounters with Prime Evils not seen in the base game.

Diablo 4 DLC release date window

The Diablo 4 DLC release date is set for late 2024. Named Vessel of Hatred, the release window was announced during the Blizzcon opening ceremony in November 2023.

Alongside the release window announcement, Blizzard also says that the DLC will introduce a new region and a “completely new” class. The new region includes locations from Diablo 2, much to fans’ delight.

Due to Diablo 2 having multiple expansions, we’d expect Diablo 4 to follow a similar format, with the first DLC being released in late 2024 and the second in early-to-mid 2026.

YouTube Thumbnail

All upcoming Diablo 4 DLC

In an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Diablo 4 general manager, Rod Fergusson, confirmed the existence of upcoming Diablo 4 expansions, explaining that the development team is “working on expansion one” and “kicking off expansion two”.

As Diablo 4 covered the world of Sanctuary’s eastern region in its base game, there’s still the western area to discover. We also would expect Blizzard to add a new class with each expansion, such as the Paladin. A level cap increase is almost guaranteed based on previous games in the franchise.

We’d also like to see new enemy types to give the game more variety, as well as new activities, world bosses, and events. This would address players’ comments that the game becomes repetitive, whilst not changing the successful format of Diablo 4 as a whole.

YouTube Thumbnail

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred trailers

We’d hoped that Lilith’s father, Mephisto, could be considered one major boss for any of the future Diablo 4 DLC. At the end of the main Diablo 4 story, spoiler alert, we slayed Lilith for good, but Mephisto was still hanging around, and as he narrates the trailer for Vessel of Hatred, it’s likely we’re going to come face-to-face with him again soon.

The trailer was shown for the first time at Blizzcon in November 2023, and features shots of the new jungle environment, a throwback to Diablo 2, alongside Mephisto speaking of his ever-growing power.

And that’s everything we know about the Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion. There’s also plenty of information about the Diablo 4 battle pass if you want bonus cosmetic items or the Diablo 4 World Tiers if you want that extra challenge. Finally, if you’re still on the fence and haven’t jumped into Sanctuary yourself yet, here’s our Diablo 4 review with our thoughts on the demon-slaying game.