Xbox gets free Diablo 4 weekend, but with a catch

Diablo 4 Season of Blood just went live, and players are already running around Sanctuary, trying to cull the Vampiric hordes plaguing the lands. To make things even more interesting this season, players on Xbox will be able to try the game for free over the course of this weekend. Considering that the game was already on the platform, this could be a nice way to invite more players into the fray.

Blizzard's ARPG (action role-playing game) has received mixed reviews since its release. While the first season could be safely dubbed a disaster, Season of Blood shows promise. Despite a troubled launch, the overall condition has improved. But what's the catch about the upcoming free Diablo 4 weekend?

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Diablo 4 free weekend limits gameplay to 10 hours only

Despite being free to players on Xbox, the Diablo 4 free weekend access will include only 10 hours of gameplay. Additionally, players will only be able to access the campaign. This bit was somewhat obvious because one has to complete the campaign before they can access the seasonal content.

That said, 10 hours of gameplay time will probably be enough for players to make considerable progress in the story. While they might not be able to complete the entire story, it should give them enough time to experience the game and decide if they want to buy it. Players will not require the Xbox Game Pass to access the title.

The Diablo 4 free weekend begins on October 19 and is set to conclude on October 22.

This, however, raises an interesting question: will Diablo 4 ever make it to the Game Pass? It's hard to comment on this matter at this point. Microsoft has won the case against the FTC with respect to the Activision Blizzard deal, so it might likely be added to the Game Pass at a later date.

This free weekend could mean that Microsoft is trying to get more players to purchase the game on their platform. With Starfield's release, however, it's been proved that Game Pass access doesn't really affect sales at all. So, it will be interesting to see how this works out for the game in the near future.

To conclude, Blizzard's ARPG is in a more balanced state at this point in time, and there's a lot of content for players to enjoy.

Despite the free weekend offering limited gameplay access, the campaign is amazing and worth investing time into.