“Diablo 4” Second Expansion “Lord of Hatred” Launches April 28, Paladin and Spiritborn Classes Arrive

Blizzard Entertainment has officially announced that the second expansion for “Diablo 4,” titled “Lord of Hatred,” will launch on April 28, 2026. Described by the studio as the “final reckoning,” this expansion will introduce a new campaign storyline, two iconic playable classes, and a comprehensive overhaul of the skill tree system, marking a critical turning point in Sanctuary’s battle against the forces of Hell.

Story Preview: Mephisto’s Power Awakens, Neyrelle Struggles

According to the official story summary, following Lilith’s defeat, her will continues to echo throughout the world. Meanwhile, Neyrelle is increasingly struggling to contain the soulstone of Mephisto, the Prime Evil of Hatred. Mephisto’s power is stirring once more, spreading corruption across the sacred isles of Skovos and threatening everything in Sanctuary. Players will confront the resurgence of this Prime Evil in the “final reckoning.”

Two Classic Classes Return: Paladin and Spiritborn

The most anticipated feature of this expansion is the return of two classic classes. Players who pre-purchase the expansion can immediately begin playing the Paladin, continuing their journey through the “Lord of Hatred” campaign when the expansion officially launches on April 28.

Paladin: Keepers of the Light

Once sinners and outcasts, the Paladins have been reborn as Keepers of the Light, dedicated to guarding Sanctuary from corruption. Wielding holy justice, they bring hope to the faithful and strike against evil across the world. The Paladin features four specializations:

• Ascendant: Channels purest light to ascend into an angelic form, gaining divine swiftness and righteous clarity. Become a blade of light to excise sin, making every strike a holy judgment.
• Zealot: Burns a path of faith with unforgiving fury. Zealots do not hesitate to throw themselves into battle, using their fervor and conviction as both sword and shield—each blow fueling the fire within, each victory intensifying the flame of devotion.
• Inquisitor: Brings Heaven’s judgment down from the skies. Inquisitors command the light’s destructive power, unleashing divine tempests that chain holy bombardments between enemies, purging corruption with radiant flame.
• Aegis: Becomes an embodiment of divine resilience. Aegis turns defense into sacred offense—each parry leading to a more severe retribution. Stand firm, never yield, and let the armies of Hell fuel your strength.

Spiritborn: Masters of Forbidden Power

Feared, hunted, and misunderstood, Spiritborn are masters of forbidden knowledge who command demonic and hellish forces through unyielding will. They do not serve Hell—they weaponize it. Through rigorous discipline and iron determination, Spiritborn tear the veil between worlds, binding demonic power to fight corruption with corruption, protecting Sanctuary from the threats of decay.

Skill Tree Overhaul: From “Skill Twig” to True “Skill Tree”

Gavian Whishaw, Executive Producer and Vice President of “Diablo 4,” revealed that this expansion will completely overhaul the existing skill tree system. “The joke is that we have a ‘skill twig,’ and they would like a tree, so we’re giving them a tree in the expansion,” Whishaw told Variety. “Players have way more choices in the Paladin skills. The thing that we’ve also done is we’ve gone back and we’ve done every other class as well. So we’re hoping we can be like — OK, you wanted the tree, here’s the tree for everybody.”

Blizzard’s 30-Year Outlook: Aiming for More Than 5 Diablo Games in the Next 30 Years

Marking the 30th anniversary of the “Diablo” franchise, Whishaw discussed the IP’s long-term planning in an interview. “It’s kind of complicated when you’re talking about titles that have been around for 20 years and people are still dedicated to and still playing and still going to get excited about new content,” he admitted. “I’ll say at a high level, I think over 30 years of ‘Diablo,’ we’ve done five titles. So I would hope that over the next 30 years we do a few more than that, maybe we get some out faster.”

Blizzard President: “More Behind the Curtain” at BlizzCon, IP Expansion into Film/TV Underway

Johanna Faries, President of Blizzard Entertainment, revealed in the same interview that this September’s returning BlizzCon will have “more behind the curtain” to share. “Much of that would have been what we would have put on the main stage as an announcement at BlizzCon, at something of that caliber,” she said, referring to the recent Showcase announcements. “So hopefully that also signals how confident we are in the belief that 2026 represents a huge, banner year for Blizzard — because BlizzCon only has more behind the curtain that we’re excited to share.”

Faries also disclosed that Blizzard is actively working to expand its IPs beyond just video games. “We want to be able to create new fans who may not have been with us for the past 35 years,” she stated. “How we continue to engage Hollywood or film and TV in bigger ways is going to be, in the near-term, probably a big part of that recipe.” She added that there are “highly generative, proactive, near-term discussions across almost every one of our worlds right now, with respect to what can we do, what format works, who’s the right team to take that to new audiences in a high caliber way.”

“Diablo 2” Receives First Update in 25 Years

Notably, as part of the 30th anniversary celebration, “Diablo 2” has received its first content update in 25 years, with a new class also being added, breathing new life into the classic title.

The “Lord of Hatred” expansion will launch on all platforms on April 28, 2026. Players who pre-purchase can immediately access the Paladin class. As the story builds toward the “final reckoning,” the fate of Sanctuary is about to be revealed.

About the game

Diablo IV is a massively multiplayer online action role-playing game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth main installment in the Diablo series. The game was officially announced at the opening ceremony of BlizzCon on November 1, 2019. It was released on June 5, 2023, and later launched on the Steam platform on October 18, 2023. On March 28, 2024, it was added to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service.Initial release date: June 1, 2023
Series: Diablo
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, GeForce Now
Nominations: The Game Award for Best Multiplayer Game, British Academy Games Award for Best Multiplayer Game, and more
License: Proprietary license
Genres: Action role-playing game, Massively multiplayer online game, Adventure game
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment