Diablo 4 Season 11 arrives just hours after The Game Awards, fueling speculation among fans that Blizzard timed the launch as a deliberate strategy. But why?

Diablo just held a developer livestream ahead of Season 11 and announced that the start date is mere days away. The Season of Divine Intervention goes live on December 11 at 8:30 p.m. PST, a strangely late start time that fans are already calling suspicious.

I’ve already covered the majority of the changes coming in my previous post on what many are dubbing Blizzard’s “Loot 3.0 update,” and tonight’s update was mainly to summarize what’s changed since the Player Test Realm in October. But to quickly recap everything you need to know...

All changes coming to Diablo 4 Season 11 in less than 30 seconds

• Tempering is now fixed and not at the mercy of RNG - You pick the affix you want, and there are infinite rerolls.
• Masterworking has been reworked - items now level up via Quality numbers 1-25 which buffs all affixes. Max this out for a big "Capstone" upgrade to one affix.
• Monsters are smarter now - Better AI, new affixes, tighter elite packs and more danger in general everywhere.
• Defense is different - New Toughness stat has been added, and Armor/Resists become ratings, potions heal you instantly and Fortify is now extra life that self-heals you.
• Renown is gone - Has been replaced by Season Rank with each tier gated by a Capstone Dungeon (yes they are back). Rewards come through this track.
• Lesser Evils will invade everything:
  - Azmodan is a new World Boss and also summonable.
  - Duriel is found in the Helltide and replaces the Blood Maiden.
  - Belial will be in The Pit.
  - Andariel owns the Undercity and can spawn as final boss.
• Divine Gifts system adds seasonal power with both Corrupted vs Purified slots for bonuses.
• The final upgrade to chase is Sanctification. This adds big legendary effects, Greater Affixes and bonus Quality from 5-25.

So that's Season 11, but what about 2026?

The Tower and Leaderboards coming February 2026

The Tower is an update that won't be ready for the Season start, instead dropping in Patch 2.5.2.

The Tower is going to be Diablo 4's new endgame gauntlet. Something that finally gives Diablo 4 a repeatable and measurable skill check. Each floor will ramp up in enemy density and monster affix pressure in a way that is designed to actually test your build.

Leaderboards will also be added with the Tower, split between Hardcore and Normal play and then broken down by class, and whether players are solo or in group play. You will even be able to filter results by Clan (finally, a use for Clans?)

Fans have already noticed something suspicious about the start time of this season.

For the uninitiated, Diablo 4 seasons tend to all start much earlier in the day, at least for our American players. For example, last season kicked off at 10:00 a.m. PT. Season 11 is kicking off much later, at 8:30 p.m.

Many keen-eyed viewers have pointed out on Reddit that this is timed for just after The Game Awards. It could just be a coincidence, but speculation is already rife that this is a shadow drop of some kind.

Perhaps the Paladin will finally be added; the season is called "Divine Intervention" after all. There's also this odd graphic with a weapon no other class in the game currently uses...

Is this a new weapon model (flail) from r/diablo4

Or it could simply be that we are getting some freebies during The Game Awards. I refuse to get my hopes up again... (I'm lying, my hopes are sky high right now.)

While we wait to see, you can check out the full patch notes for 2.5.0 on Blizzard's blog.

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