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Some Diablo 4 players are coming to terms with confirmation they must start a new character to play Season 1 content.<\/p>\n

Diablo 4 launched early June, and while some fans raced towards the level cap of 100 (and some even managed it with a level 100 Hardcore character), Blizzard itself recently revealed the vast majority of Diablo 4 players have yet to complete the campaign. And yet, the start of Season 1 nears. While Blizzard has yet to announce its release date, amid-to-late July window has been confirmed.<\/p>\n

This week, Diablo development chief Rod Fergusson took to Twitter<\/a> to confirm Diablo 4 players must create a new seasonal character to enjoy the Season 1 content, including its battle pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo take part in the seasonal questline, mechanics, season journey, and battle pass, you will need to create a new seasonal character,\u201d Fergusson said. \u201cPlaying campaign with seasonal character (if you so desire or need to finish) will also progress the season journey and battle pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

“To take part in the seasonal questline, mechanics, season journey and battle pass, you will need to create a new seasonal character.”<\/h5>\n

While this is how seasons worked in previous Diablo games (players replay the game with each season’s new content rather than hitting the ground running with a maxed out character), series newcomers weren\u2019t necessarily in the know. And it should be noted Diablo 4 is the first game in the series to have a battle pass. As a result, Fergusson\u2019s clarification sparked a number of comments from concerned Diablo 4 players who feel they\u2019re already being left behind just a few weeks after the game came out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a new Diablo player and a new dad,\u201d Twitter user @putbackthestars said<\/a>. \u201cI only have maybe an hour a day to game, if that. So my current character is only level 11. You\u2019re saying I should basically not even play this game then right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fergusson replied to this comment<\/a>, pointing out that once the Diablo 4 campaign is complete, it can be skipped (you only ever need to complete it once on any character on your account and then you can skip it for any character moving forward).<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you should definitely play,\u201d Fergusson replied. \u201cThe new season mechanics\/features come after the campaign is complete so you should focus on completing it now so you can just skip it when the season starts since you only ever need to complete the campaign once.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the confirmation that existing characters cannot be used for Season 1 content, and the prospect of grinding a new seasonal character just to take part, that\u2019s got so many Diablo 4 players worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cGotta be honest, as a new player, I don\u2019t see myself grinding like this again,\u201d said Twitter user @chapmamba_<\/a>. \u201cIf I have to start from scratch for Season 1 I\u2019m likely done maining Diablo. And I know there\u2019s a ton of people in the same boat. I care about my current character. I\u2019d just say f**k it if I lost him.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth pointing out existing characters are not \u201clost\u201d with the launch of Season 1. Rather, they are moved to the Eternal Realm, a version of Diablo 4 without content from the latest season.<\/p>\n