Diablo 3 Cross-Platform Play Is Impossible, No Seasons for Consoles, Blizzard Says

You'll never be able to play Diablo III with friends across different platforms, and console players won't get the PC's Seasons content, Blizzard has said.

In regards to cross-platform play, Diablo III Lead Designer Kevin Martens told GameSpot that it's "definitely not possible at this point with this game. We didn't build it that way, so the two ecosystems are closed. I'm trying to give you the most definitive, least PR answer there is, and that is no, we can't do that. What the Xbox and PlayStation networks do is different than what Battle.net does."

The console ecosystem, Martens explained, also prevents Blizzard from giving Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players Seasons, a new feature introduced on PC in Patch 2.1, which lets players level up a character during a limited time to win special rewards.

"Seasons requires always online, and that's one of the major differences in the ecosystems there," Martens said. "For seasonal conquests and things to be what they are, everyone has to be playing on the same leveled field. That's a great example for something that doesn't work for consoles."

However, Martens says that console players also have advantages that PC players don't, like the ability to gift rare items to friends.

"On the PC side, given the history of it and the auction house and all that, we took out trading of the most powerful items, Legendaries, unless the other player was there when it dropped," he said. "Instead, we replaced it by just being way more generous with stuff so people don't miss that."

For more news about Diablo III and the rest of Blizzard's games, read everything you need to know about Blizzcon 2014.