Season 16 ofDiablo 3,also referred to as the‘Season of Grandeur’,went live on January 18. It’s notable because, unlike prior seasons, it makes set-piece bonuses kick in with one less piece of the set than normal. Usually, this power is only available through a legendary item called The Ring of Grandeur.
The game’s meta has long focused on set-piece bonuses. The new season, which is flanked by other tweaks to armor set balance, is meant to shake up the stale list of top builds. It’s appreciated, but seasons could (and should) be so much more.
Diablo 3has faded…
The first season ofDiablo 3began on July 23, 2025. It came just months after theReaper of Soulsexpansion and packed a list of new legendary items. The seasons that followed were full of promise. New items were added, and the patches that came each season added new areas and features.Kanai’s Cubecame in August 2015 as part of Patch 2.3, and in January of 2016, Patch 2.4 added Set Dungeons and Empowered Rifts.
It was a prolific time for content inDiablo 3,but as time went on, Blizzard let off the gas. Seasons started to see fewer new features and items, while patches became less frequent. Multiple seasons passed without major changes to the game.
Season 16 is more of the same. It makes a tweak to the meta but isn’t backed by any major patch features. New levels? Monsters? Rifts? Nah. That’d require real effort, and Blizzard’s not willing to backDiablo 3with more than a skeleton crew.
Path of Exilehas staked out territory asDiablo 3’salternative.
It’s a strange situation.Diablo 3is part of a popular franchise with over 20 years of history. It has a loyal following eager for updates. Yet Blizzard seems content with leaving it for dead. There’s little hope for new classes, new challenges, or new feature updates. EvenHeroes of the Storm,recently left to witheras the company moves on to other projects, has enjoyed better support.
…whilePath of Exilesurged
Blizzard doesn’t seem to think players are interested in an older game that lacks a competitive esports scene. Nevermind that every new console release ofDiablo 3–including the new Switch port– sold like delicious hotcakes. It’s a serious miscalculation, one that does a disservice toDiabloand suggests Blizzarddoesn’t understand whyits fans stay engaged.
How could a game likeDiablo 3be different? Look no further thanPath of Exile. An early access success story before the term “early access” was popular,Path of Exilehas staked out territory asDiablo 3’salternative. Grinding Gear Games, the developer, committed to an aggressive update schedule that constantly adds new features, new quests, and new items.
That schedule has, if anything, accelerated over time, as both new expansions and new seasons hit at regular intervals. These often include unique ways to play the game. 2018’s expansion,Betrayal,arrived with a new meta-game about the investigation of a shadowy organization called the Immortal Syndicate. It also brought back content from prior leagues as permanent game features.
The result? Popularity.Path of Exilepeaked at 34,371 concurrent players on launch in October of 2013. The new expansion,Betrayal,saw a peak of 123,462 players, the game’s best turnout yet. It’s now six years old, yet more popular than ever before.
Forcing players to move on
Diablohas a future. The controversial mobile game,Diablo Immortal, will arrive this year, followed byDiablo 4in 2020 (or later). Blizzardclearly plans to do morewith the franchise, which makes the decision to neglectDiablo 3even more bizarre.
Gamers, like everyone else, stick to what they know. Examine any list of best-selling or most-popular games and you’ll see the same names appear time and time again.Grand Theft Auto V.Fortnite.Call of Duty. These franchises are popular not because they’re good (though they often are), but because they’realwayspart of the conversation. Most of today’s top games have lasting appeal.
The trivial updates toDiablo 3ignore that, giving games likePath of Exilethe chance to assimilate fans of Blizzard’s franchise. That’s bad for the game, bad for fans, and most damning of all, it’s boring. There’s nothing grand about the ‘Season of Grandeur’.
