Blizzard developers for the upcoming action RPG Diablo 4 stressed time and again that its game will not be pay-to-win, among other things

Diablo 4 game director Joe Shely said in a quarterly update on the game via Blizzard’s site that the game will have post-release content like its Seasons mode, where players start from scratch with a new character every season. Players also won’t be able to spend real money to upgrade character abilities.

“To play in the new season, you’ll create a fresh character and experience the new seasonal features and content while levelling up alongside other players. This, along with capping paragon points in Diablo IV, ensures that your effort and skill – measured by both dexterity and theorycrafting – determine how powerful your character becomes. It also allows players who missed the last season to participate.”

The update also mentioned that there will be free rewards and paid rewards, all of them cosmetics.

“This season design requires that all sources of character power come from playing the game, so you will not be able to pay for power in Diablo IV. Completing Season Journey objectives also grants progress toward the Season Pass, a new feature with a battle pass-style progression that advances alongside the Season Journey, enabling players to earn even more rewards just by playing.”

The Season Pass has both free rewards (cosmetics, premium currency, and gameplay boosts) and paid rewards (cosmetics and premium currency only). There will be a single track of rewards with Free Tiers that are unlocked just by playing the game and levelling, and Premium Tiers which provide no in-game power or advantage over other players. The Free Tiers of the pass will provide gameplay boosts to all players – things which make the journey of levelling up a fresh seasonal character faster and more streamlined. In contrast, the Premium Tier rewards are focused on aesthetics, providing a huge value in the form of cosmetics and Premium Currency.”

Diablo 4’s in-game shop will sell Premium Currency, with the items inside only being cosmetic; they will not grant a direct or indirect gameplay advantage.

“The Shop sells cosmetics for Premium Currency. Cosmetics give players even more options to customize the visual appearance of their characters. Nothing offered in the Shop grants a direct or indirect gameplay advantage. So, while many of these may look like powerful pieces of gear, they have no in-game stats.”

Until the game comes out in 2023 for PC and consoles, we’ll have to take Blizzard’s word for it. Let’s hope it doesn’t end up like its controversial mobile cousin.