Lord of Hatred is the next Diablo 4 expansion, with a release date of April 28, 2026

Diablo 4 developers told us to watch The Game Awards and we were not disappointed — their next expansion, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, continues our (rather expected) fight against Mephisto. But the trailer was less about Mephisto and more about a new class coming to the game: the fan-favorite Paladin class. And if you pre-purchase the expansion, you’ll unlock the Paladin class right now to play in Diablo 4 Season 11, which is now live.

But while the trailer didn’t show off many game features, Blizzard has released some exciting new details about the coming expansion, so let’s talk about the highlights of Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, with a release date on April 28, 2026.

First off, the main story. It’s time for our final stand against Mephisto, the eponymous Lord of Hatred himself. He’s heading to Skovos, “the ancestral birthplace of the first civilization and the former home of Lilith and Inarius, [which] stands as Sanctuary’s oldest and most storied region.” Even when we interacted with the Amazons of Skovos in Diablo 2, we never actually got to experience their homeland. Instead, Skovos will be our regional hub for the expansion storyline as we move to protect the Pools of Creation with an old foe we thought dead (no, it’s not Diablo, sorry).

The Paladin class is available now (with expansion preorder), but, there is a “second, yet-unrevealed class [which] looms on the dark horizon — its power undeniable, its arrival poised to reshape the battlefield.” I think we’d all love to see the Amazon, or a spiritual successor, come to the title and add another class with both close-up and ranged gameplay options, but I imagine this could be hard to distinguish from the Rogue, and we’re already pretty heavy on melee classes. Perhaps we’re in for another new-to-the-franchise class, like the Spiritborn. After all, we’ll interact with both The Oracle and the Amazon Queen in Skovos — an Oracle-like caster would be a fantastic addition to the game’s cast of… well, casters.

However, Lord of Hatred will result in some significant shake-up for all of your existing characters. Skill trees will be “deeply reworked” with new class-specific variants and expanded crafting system to broaden the build pool across the (at release) eight classes. Loot Filters (new to the franchise) will help target specific gear drops for your class, while two additional crafting systems — the return of the Horadric Cube and the new Talisman — will bring set bonuses to the fray for additional customization.

Finally, the endgame is going to see some hefty improvements as well. With War Plans, players can “craft their own endgame progression path” — basically, you pick your favorite endgame activities and apply modifiers to earn those high-value rewards. Meanwhile, the Echoing Hatred adds a gauntlet-style challenge of demonic hordes “designed to challenge even the strongest builds.” But possibly the best endgame activity of all is coming to Diablo 4 — fishing. Yes, we can finally get a break from all the demon-slaying.

The Lord of Hatred expansion will come with the usual three editions: Standard ($40), Deluxe ($60), and Ultimate ($90). Any pre-purchase unlocks the early access to the Paladin as well as an extra Stash tab and two more Character slots. Purchasing the expansion also unlocks Vessel of Hatred immediately in addition to the coming expansion. The Deluxe and Ultimate editions stack cosmetics on top of the Standard, along with battle pass bundles, a mount, a pet, and more. Plus, if you’re a World of Warcraft player enjoying the new player housing, you get three exclusive decor items — again, with any edition.

You can pre-order Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred right now on Battle.net, Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam.

It’s pretty safe to say that there’s a lot of (justified) excitement around this expansion announcement, and it’s only the early days yet! We’ll learn more as we approach the release date and can’t wait to see you in Skovos on April 28, 2026 to kill the Lord of Hatred. Happy hunting!