Diablo 4 was a very successful game when it was first released in June 2023. However, after several season updates, Diablo 4 has been embroiled in controversy among fans and players.
Season of the Malignant, the first season of the isometric action RPG released by the developer, has been widely opposed and questioned by hardcore fans of Diablo 4.
The reason for this phenomenon is largely due to the radical changes made by the developers to the class build in the game. These include weakening the skills of Sorcerer and Barbarian classes, downgrading the XP rewards for killing high-level monsters, and adjusting the difficulty of some end-game activities. These changes forced players to consume more Diablo 4 Gold to complete the activity tasks.
Given the above changes made by the developers in Season of the Malignant, Diablo 4 has become a tough battle, and the season has received too many critical voices. This also forced the developers to quickly readjust the game content in the subsequent season updates to respond to the timely feedback and opinions of players.
Expected Release Date
While Diablo 4 still has some issues, recent patches have been more popular with players than the controversial first season.
After the widespread backlash over the first season’s extensive changes, the developers decided to update the seasons by adding content to the game rather than weakening existing game content. The game’s next season – Season 7, looks to continue this trend.
While Diablo 4’s upcoming Season 7 has not yet been officially announced, it has been revealed that the season is Witch-themed and will bring a number of noteworthy features for players to enjoy, such as new Witchcraft powers, new quality of life features, and more unique features for all classes.
Although the developers have not yet announced a specific release date for Diablo 4 Season 7, based on past experience, it should be released shortly after the end of Diablo 4 Season 6, which is expected to be after January 21, 2025.
But no matter what the specific release date is, the developers seem to have perfectly and wittily arranged the update time for Diablo 4 Season 7. Because it doesn’t have to compete head-on with Path of Exile 2.
Competitors Of Diablo 4
As we all know, Diablo 4’s biggest competitor is Path of Exile 2, which is currently a hot topic in the circle. If you want to find a game that can compete with Marvel Rivals in the circle, it is undoubtedly Path of Exile 2.
Developed and produced by New Zealand game company – Grinding Gear Games, Path of Exile 2 is the sequel to Path of Exile, a free role-playing game launched more than 10 years ago.
Both games are deeply inspired by Diablo series, not only in terms of game visuals but also in terms of game loop content. For example, in Diablo games, players need to create unique builds to fight, attack and kill hordes of monsters and other dark fantasy demons, and obtain enough gold to exchange for Diablo 4 mats. In this regard, POE and POE 2 have similarities.
Path of Exile 2 was released in early access on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on December 6, 2024. And, so far, the feedback on the game has been good.
Compared with the free POE, although the early access version of POE 2 costs $30 to play, the game still has a considerable number of players.
According to statistics, on Steam alone, POE 2 has more than 570,000 players within a week of its release, and this momentum has been maintained a few days later.
Although it is in the early access experience stage, it is not surprising that the rich game content has retained most of the players.
It is revealed that it will take players at least 30 hours to complete the main campaign of POE 2. But players will have to spend 40-70 hours to complete more side content. In terms of its own story content, the length of POE 2’s story is similar to the story mode of Diablo 4, but POE 2 seems to have added more content. This is incredible.
According to the developer, the current version of POE 2 only contains half of the campaign content, and the rest of the game’s story content will appear in Path of Exile 2. And this version will be released online when the early access POE 2 experience ends sometime in 2025.
A Wise Choice By The Developers
Considering the popularity of POE 2, it is not a wise decision for the developers to release a new season update just a few days after the release of Diablo 4.
Because at present, there may be some Diablo 4 fans who are busy exploring POE 2 and may not pay much attention to some new content activities and rewards of Diablo 4 for at least a few weeks.
So this is why the wisest release time for Diablo 4 Season 7 is in late January 2025, because in late January, many players will have completed the main quests in POE 2 and will return to the Diablo 4 battlefield to kill monsters.
