You won’t be able to take your existing Diablo 4 character through the battle pass

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

An executive at Blizzard has confirmed that you'll need to make a brand new character to take part in Diablo 4's upcoming battle pass. 

Diablo 4 is one of the best RPGs out right now and features a wealth of content to explore in the world of Sanctuary. The battle pass, which is scheduled to launch in mid-to-late July, along with other seasonal content, means that your existing character (complete with class upgrades and gear) won't be able to experience the new content as you'll have to start from scratch. 

Writing in a response on Twitter, Rod Fergusson the general manager of Diablo, has stated that: "to take part in the seasonal questline, mechanics, season journey and battle pass, you will need to create a new seasonal character" continuing with: "Playing campaign with seasonal character (if you so desire or need to finish) will also progress the season journey and battle pass". 

According to Fergusson: "The new season mechanics/features come after the campaign is complete so you should focus on completing it now so you can just skip it when the season starts" as "you only ever need to complete the campaign once". If you want to play through the Season 1 content and battle pass, which is free for the first 27 tier rewards and paid ($9.88 / £8.39) for the Premium version for a total of 63 tier unlocks. There's also the "Accelerated" option which will run you the equivalent of $24.99 / £20.99 of the game's premium Platinum currency. 

Taking part in next month's seasonal content, which includes exclusive loot, emblems, and titles, will only be locked to that seasonal character that you start again with. It's potentially disappointing news to anyone that's spent hundreds of hours getting their champion to Level 100, itching for more will need to go through it again, and this will be the case for each new season and respective battle pass to come in the game's future. 

If you're on the hunt for more massive titles then we recommend checking out the best RPGs on Game Pass. Diablo 4 also plays great with one of the best PS5 controllers and the best Xbox Series X controller, too. 

Aleksha McLoughlin
Contributor

Aleksha McLoughlin is an experienced hardware writer. She was previously the Hardware Editor for TechRadar Gaming until September 2023. During this time, she looked after buying guides and wrote hardware reviews, news, and features. She has also contributed hardware content to the likes of PC Gamer, Trusted Reviews, Dexerto, Expert Reviews, and Android Central. When she isn't working, you'll often find her in mosh pits at metal gigs and festivals or listening to whatever new black and death metal has debuted that week.