Diablo 4 devs reassure fans Season 1 Battle Pass won’t be pay-to-win

Diablo 4 Season 1, Season of the Malignant, is set to bring the game’s first Battle Pass, and the devs have confirmed that it won’t provide any pay-to-win advantages to those who choose the Premium path.

Diablo 4 has become an instant hit, going down as Blizzard’s fastest-selling game of all time and one of the biggest releases of 2023. But as players will know, beating the campaign is just the beginning as the game is packed full of endgame activities.

Fans can expect years of support for Diablo 4, with the Season 1 update set to arrive on July 20. The Season of the Malignant will bring the first Battle Pass for players to work through, giving them a steady stream of unlocks to grind through.

While the arrival of the Diablo 4 Battle Pass make cause concerns for some when it comes to balancing, the devs have pressured players that they are steering clear of pay-to-win content.

In a developer update live stream, Lead Game Producer, Tim Ismay, confirmed that any power boosts included in the Battle Pass will be available as part of the free version, ensuring that those who purchase the Premium track don’t gain an advantage.

“If you never want to pay a cent you are still getting a lot of power out of the Season journey and the free unlocks on the Battle Pass,” he explained. “This is kind of an increase in power for everybody, then if you want to spend money that’s unlocking more cosmetics.”

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Later in the stream, Community Lead, Adam Fletcher, added: “If you do pay for a Battle Pass all the paid items are going to be cosmetics, it’s not pay-for-power.”

The Diablo 4 Season 1 Battle Pass features 27 Tiers of free content which is available to anyone, featuring power-ups like Smoldering Ashes. Meanwhile, the $10 Premium Track is made up of 63 Tiers, but this will only include skins, armor transmogs, and other rewards that don’t affect gameplay.

This will come as a relief for those players who were concerned that the addition of a Battle Pass would force them to spend money to stay ahead of the competition. We’ll get a full look at the DIablo 4 Season 1 Battle Pass rewards when the update goes live on July 20.

For more on Diablo 4, be sure to check out our best Sorcerer builds, as well as how to reset the Paragon Board.