For the uninformed, it has been discovered that you are able to play Diablo IV with a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription after some initial confusion. To find out how to do so, you can take a look at this guide from Seeking Tech.
What can you do in Diablo 4 without PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold?
If you decide not to subscribe to PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold, you can still play through the entirety of the game by yourself as a single player or with two player via local couch co-op. You will also be able to see other players in the game.
Since Diablo 4 is an online only game, you still have to stayed logged into the game’s online server in order to keep playing. If you go offline, then you won’t be able to play at all until you are signed in again.
What can’t you do in Diablo IV without PS+ or Xbox Live Gold?
Without a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription, you won’t be able to join or create clans, form parties, online co-op, partake in player versus player battles, trade with another player as well as do other multiplayer activities.
If you want to participate in online activities, then you will need to subscribe to PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, PlayStation Plus Deluxe or PlayStation Plus Premium on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console.
If you have the Xbox version, then you have to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Live Game Pass Ultimate on the Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X.
How to play Diablo 4 without PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold
In order to play Diablo IV without a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription, boot up the game and then try to sign in.
You may see a message asking you to subscribe to PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold. Here, you need to select cancel to avoid buying a sub.
Afterwards, you may get another notification that shows the limitations of playing this game without Plus or Gold. You should then be able to continue to sign into your Battle.net account and load your save file without any issues.
Along with the PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Diablo 4 was also released for the PC platform. You do not need a subscription of any kind to gain access to the multiplayer features if you have the computer version of this action role-playing game.