Diablo Manager Teases the return of an old 'Friend' while confirming Season 8's two-week delay

Diablo 4’s 8th Season has been officially confirmed as delayed, according to Rod Fergusson, the franchise’s general manager, in a social media post shared today.

In their social media update, Fergusson stated that Season 8 “will take a couple of weeks longer to bake than we initially anticipated. The team is hard at work on some great updates coming in the next season, so stay tuned. Looking forward to seeing an old ‘friend. ‘”

When it comes to Season 8 needing more time to cook in the witch’s cauldron, eagle-eyed Diablo fans first noticed that the in-game date counter for when the current seventh season (Season of Witchcraft) would end had recently changed.

Originally stating that the Season of Witchcraft would end on the 15th of April, users spotted a change in this counter as it now states that the current season will end on April 29th instead.

This lines up with Fergussons social media post, as the updated timing suggests a two-week delay.

This is all subject to change, of course, as unforeseen bugs and other issues can crop up and the in-game counter can be updated by Blizzard at any time.

That said, Fergusson was keen to deliver the news with a more balanced slant by teasing the return of a mysterious ‘friend’ to the game.

Lore-heads and hardcore fans will have that tease to think about, discuss, and debate while Diablo 4’s seventh season is extended by a minimum of two weeks.

Fans can often be disappointed by the news of delays, and so the idea that a compelling character might feature in the coming expansion will hopefully allow that blow to land more softly.

Probably aware of the skepticism behind the seasonal model, Fergusson recently restated Blizzard’s commitment to supporting Diablo 4 for a long time and warned fans not to expect Diablo 5 in the near future.

Diablo 4 Will Be Here For Years, Says Fergusson

We want people to see the road ahead, because we know that, to play a Diablo game, you’re probably putting hundreds of hours in, and we want people to know that we’re respecting their time and that we’re not just here and gone

Check out Fergusson’s post below:

As of the time of writing, Season 7 of Diablo 4 is slated to end on April 29th, 2025.