Unlocking Geralt’s Skin in Diablo 4 Comes with a Frustrating Catch

CD Projekt Red is teaming up with Blizzard to bring its titles to Battle.net. This unexpected partnership kicked off with the announcement at Gamescom that The Witcher 3 would be available on the platform, and it continued this weekend with the reveal that Cyberpunk 2077 will also be making its way to the launcher. To add to the excitement, a Geralt of Rivia skin for the Barbarian class in Diablo 4 will be up for grabs. However, the only way to unlock this skin is by pre-ordering The Witcher 3’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, through Battle.net.

The details of this collaboration were unveiled during a 30 Years of Battle.net panel at BlizzCon 2026. Alongside the announcement that Cyberpunk 2077 and its Phantom Liberty expansion will be available on Blizzard’s storefront later this year, CDPR showcased the Geralt skin for Diablo 4’s Barbarian class and explained the unlocking process. While this is a pleasant surprise for fans who primarily use the Battle.net launcher, it leaves others feeling excluded.

The requirement to pre-order on Battle.net effectively shuts out players who mainly use Steam or consoles, and it even compels those who already own The Witcher 3 to repurchase it on Battle.net if they want to access Songs of the Past. Understandably, players have voiced their frustrations, and the complaints extend beyond just the method for unlocking Geralt’s appearance in Sanctuary.

“Why have they turned Geralt into a meathead?” questioned one player on The Witcher 3 subreddit. “This being locked to Battle.net is diabolical,” remarked another on social media. “Why would I buy cosmetics for a game you just confirmed is no longer receiving major content updates?” someone replied directly to the Diablo social media account, referencing the recent announcement that there will be no further expansions for Diablo 4 leading up to Diablo 5.

As for the aesthetic feedback, which has been plentiful, it’s important to note that the Geralt skin for Diablo 4 had to fit within the existing Barbarian hitbox and move set. “And you can see here — for those of you in the know — that this armor is heavily inspired by Geralt’s iconic Kaer Morhen armor,” explained Miles Tost, the level design lead for The Witcher 3. “There’s a bit of Barbarian sprinkled on top…you see all the fur. I think you can see here how we’re trying to create collaborations like these in a way that makes sense for both teams and worlds and also fans. I hope you can see here how we have created something that feels right at home in Sanctuary.”

Regarding the purchase requirements, it’s disappointing that this collaboration isn’t accessible to anyone who owns Diablo 4 and pre-orders Songs of the Past. Perhaps CDPR and Blizzard plan to eventually offer the Geralt skin for standalone purchase to all players. At that point, the conversation will likely shift to the price instead.