Is Diablo 4 free to play?

Diablo 4 has been a smash hit for Blizzard Entertainment, but is it free to play? Given its incredibly expensive cosmetics, which is often indicative of a free-to-play title, this is a common question. However, there is some good news and bad news for people who would like to play the game without spending any money.

The good news is that there are occasionally ways to play D4 for free, even if for a limited time. It’s also on at least one subscription service. However, the bad news is that Diablo 4 is normally not free to play. While there are some options open to you, even they will ultimately be a little restrictive.

The best way to play D4 is to purchase the game on one of the platforms that it’s available on, especially ahead of the Vessel of Hatred launch. However, here’s what you have available to you if you’re trying to avoid spending money.

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Diablo 4 is not free to play normally, but there are options

There's so much to do in D4, it's worth the price of admission (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

While Diablo 4 is not free to play normally, the game does occasionally go free-to-play for a weekend. This typically happens around a major update for the game. In the last case, it was for the massive overhaul that came with Season 4: Loot Reborn.

However, Blizzard recently announced another limited-time free-play weekend. This one takes place between September 19, 2024, and September 23, 2024. It will be available on Xbox, PlayStaiton and PC, through character level 20.

After all, Season 6 is updating a massive amount of Diablo 4’s features and mechanics for Vessel of Hatred. While that isn’t confirmed, there is no doubt Blizzard will make the game free to play again for a limited time in the future. Your only other option technically costs money either way.

Xbox Game Pass/PC Game Pass does feature Diablo 4 as one of the games you can play. However, when Vessel of Hatred comes out, it will no longer be available. If you want to take advantage of any of the new features (Runewords) or the Spiritborn class, you’re going to have to purchase the expansion.

Unfortunately, there’s no other way to enjoy D4 in a free-to-play manner. Thankfully, the game doesn’t hide any pay-to-win mechanics, and once you’ve purchased it, you can take part in all the content, including the various seasons. There’s no subscription. You will eventually have to purchase expansions for the new content they provide, but that’s it.

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Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and features:

• 5 biggest changes in Season 6 (that we know so far)
• Season 6 progression cheat sheet: How will leveling and endgame work?
• 5 most build-defining items in the game that are worth the grind