Diablo IV Update 2.5.2 Brings The Tower Mode and Leaderboards Beta Live Today
Blizzard is rolling out Diablo IV update 2.5.2 today at 11am PT, 2pm ET, and 7pm BT, and the headline additions are The Tower in the seasonal realm plus Leaderboards launching in Beta. Blizzard is explicitly pushing these features out early to extend the feedback runway, which is a smart move for a mode that will live or die based on replay value, fairness, and how well the scoring and pacing hold up once players start optimizing the meta at scale.
In its official blog post, Blizzard frames The Tower as a new endgame style run where you fight through a series of floors with randomized layouts and rotating monster families, pushing deeper while racing against the clock. The core loop is designed to reward build mastery and execution under pressure, culminating in a final Tower boss to complete your run. Blizzard also makes it clear that this is a Beta rollout, meaning players should expect some rough edges, but the intent is to shape the mode together with player feedback as more Tower and Leaderboards features are built out in future updates.
Access is gated behind seasonal progress. Only players who have completed Rank 2 of the season rank will be able to enter The Tower, which effectively ensures participants have at least dipped into the season before competing. Leaderboards will run in 2 week rounds throughout each season, and Blizzard notes a defined cutoff: the day before the current season, Season of Divine Intervention, ends, the leaderboards will close and lock, preserving placements in the rankings.
The Tower & Leaderboards Beta arrives Monday.
— Diablo (@Diablo) January 9, 2026
Learn more about the newest challenge to enter Sanctuary: https://t.co/joUrWyexhP pic.twitter.com/wIT67BakWx
This Beta launch also connects directly to Blizzard’s broader 2026 roadmap messaging. The Tower and Leaderboards were previously teased as part of the 2026 section of Diablo IV’s roadmap, alongside the next expansion. Now we are 12 days into 2026 and Blizzard has already moved one of those roadmap items into players’ hands, which suggests the team is serious about iterating in public rather than keeping these systems sealed until they are fully polished.
On the expansion side, your draft notes that Lord of Hatred is scheduled to arrive on April 28, 2026, and it is positioned as Diablo IV’s second major expansion following Vessel of Hatred, which launched in October 2024. With The Tower and Leaderboards now entering live testing, it is reasonable to expect Blizzard to clarify how these systems will evolve ahead of April 28, 2026, especially if The Tower becomes a pillar activity that needs to align with expansion progression, rewards, and the seasonal cadence.
The big question is execution. Randomized floors plus a timer can create a compelling loop, but it also amplifies balance issues and build disparities. If Blizzard wants this to land as a long term competitive mode, the community will be watching scoring transparency, reset cadence, exploit resistance, and whether the activity feels like a true skill test rather than a narrow funnel for a handful of dominant builds.
What do you want Blizzard to prioritize first for The Tower and Leaderboards Beta, better rewards, tighter balance, clearer scoring rules, or more meaningful build diversity?
