Microsoft has shown off the opening cinematic for Diablo 4’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, at its Xbox Games Showcase while also revealing the release date: October 8, 2024.
The expansion revolves around prime evil Mephisto, who as you’d expect has demonic plans for poor old Sanctuary. Vessel of Hatred continues the main story from Diablo 4, which launched to record-breaking sales back in June 2023. Diablo 4 is Blizzard’s fastest-selling game of all time, earning over $666 million dollars in sales in less than a week.
According to cinematic director Doug Gregory, the trailer shows Mephisto playing with the emotions of Neyrelle, who is shown in the trailer.
“The brutality is there, but if you don’t believe in the relationship between Neyrelle and her mother, the other stuff is fluff,” cinematic director Gregory said in a post on Xbox News Wire. “The real pain is the torment of believing your mother is alive for a second, having that ripped away from you, and knowing the person riding shotgun with you – Mephisto – can easily play with your state of mind.”
Since launch, Blizzard has released a number of content updates as part of a seasonal structure, and, most recently, launched an overhauled loot system with Season 4. Vessel of Hatred is the first of two Diablo 4 expansions known to be in development at Blizzard.
In IGN’s 9/10 review we described Diablo 4 as “a stunning sequel with near perfect endgame and progression design that makes it absolutely excruciating to put down”. Be sure to check out our Diablo 4 guide for tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your journey through hell, and to use our interactive map to keep track of your progress as you play.
For more, check out everything else announced at the Xbox Showcase.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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