What will Diablo 4 expansions cost?

Diablo 4 Season 2 continues but we’re already looking forward to next year’s expansion Vessel of Hatred as it continues the story of our characters similar to how Reaper of Souls added an entire Act to Diablo 3. With Diablo 4 costing $70 in the US — a full $10 markup over Diablo 3 — we shouldn’t expect expansions to come in at the $40 price tag of Reaper of Souls. Instead we’re expecting the Diablo 4 expansions to be priced at $50 apiece for the standard edition, with deluxe editions also available for a higher cost.

This price point is dependent on a few factors. First, the amount of content delivered is expected to meet or exceed Reaper of Souls — one or more Acts, and a new class — so the $40 price tag of that expansion is the floor. Without seeing the internal roadmap for the game, though, it’s hard to say if there will be additional content beyond what D3’s lone expansion provided. Even if the game added three or four Acts, however, we don’t foresee a Starcraft 2 situation where the expansions will come in at the same price as the base game. So that makes $60 effectively the ceiling price, albeit one that still matches the standard price of AAA releases. Unless multiple classes are included in the expansions, we don’t see how $60 is viable, therefore $50 makes the most sense.

A recent survey sent to Diablo 4 players revealed that Blizzard is considering multiple feature and pricing options for Vessel of Hatred, with the expansion possibly costing as much as $100 — or as low as $20. With so many combinations in the survey, however, it’s hard to tell how serious the highest and lowest cost options truly are; it’s feasible the purpose was to suss out individual feature price points, not the total expansion price. Regardless of the survey there doesn’t seem to be a reason to go above $50 for the base game based on the announced features, although it’s not out of the realm of possibility that what we normally consider to be “deluxe” features will be rolled into the standard game, inflating its price.

Diablo 4 Expansion Deluxe and Ultimate Edition prices

Blizzard is fully onboard with expanded release editions and we expect the Diablo 4 expansions to be no different. As usual there should be Deluxe Editions providing a Season Battle Pass unlock and various cosmetic items with a $20 upcharge and a price point of $70.

The Ultimate Edition is a bigger question as it may depend on the success of D4’s Seasonal Battle Pass sales as to whether or how it will be offered. The current Ultimate Edition provides a $15 benefit (plus one cosmetic) for $10. If the Battle Pass sales are strong, the Ultimate Edition may be less of an enticement for the Battle Pass and instead offer additional cosmetics (plus the tier skips) for an additional $20 charge or $90 total. Conversely, if Battle Pass sales are weak, the Ultimate Edition may retain its current $10 upcharge and add more cosmetics to entice players to get the tier skips. Since it’s too early to judge the success of Battle Pass sales, for now we’re expecting expansions to continue the model of the base game and sell for a further $10 or $80 total.

Originally published July 28, 2023. Updated December 26, 2023.