As promised, Blizzard brought several games to Gamescom 2024 to celebrate the show and bring us new highlights. Now that the studio is part of the Microsoft family, Blizzard’s games are in an awkward position. They can obviously stand on their own, but they also need to strengthen the Xbox lineup.
Gaming industry politics aside, the games the studio brought out today are certainly worthy of attention, especially Diablo IV.
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The focus, of course, is on the first expansion pack for Diablo IV, The Ships of Hatred. The Ships of Hatred was officially unveiled at the Summer Game Festival in June. We watched its opening cinematic and learned that it would be released on October 8. Since then, Blizzard has been revealing more and more information about the expansion pack, including, of course, the new “Elfborn” class.
There was plenty of misery and horror on display in the trailer for the new expansion, which was shown during the premiere night. Clearly, the new classes are worth the wait, and there are a number of new mercenary companions to keep you company, and they all look interesting; the Butcher, the Shieldbearer, the Nomadic Woodland Archer, and the Imp-like Child are just a few of them.
Game director Brent Gibson was also on hand to discuss mercenaries and new game modes. Fans can expect a new multi-level dungeon that gives you control over your challenges and rewards, as well as a new cooperative PvP dungeon that offers a range of multiplayer puzzles and mechanics. There will be more to come on Vessel of Hatred during Gamescom.
Diablo IV is currently in its fifth season. The Hellfire Legion season will be slightly shorter than previous seasons to allow for the start of Season 6 with the release of Ships of Hatred. Season 5 has been well received so far, and Blizzard continues to build on it with new patches, continuing to refine the core game of Diablo IV.
