Blizzard confirmed that development of the Diablo 4 expansion Lord of Hatred began before the base game's launch in May 2023. Associate director Zaven Haroutunian revealed that the project had been in development for an extended period, which allowed some of its planned features to be transferred to the main title to improve the player experience.
The Infernal Hordes mode was brought forward as a functional prototype 🔥
An example of this strategy is the endgame mode Infernal Hordes, which was originally a prototype designed for the expansion. Blizzard decided to implement it earlier in Diablo 4 to offer additional content to players without waiting for the Lord of Hatred release. This decision allowed them to test its mechanics in the base game, adjust balance, and gather usage data before the official launch of the expansion.
The trick of releasing new toys early 🎮
Blizzard has given us a taste of what's to come, like someone dropping a new toy before Christmas to see if we like it. The Infernal Hordes mode arrived as a preview, but now we know it was a prototype for the expansion. The question is: what other surprises does Lord of Hatred hold that we are already testing without knowing it? Perhaps the next patch will even include a final boss that greets us from the menu.