The Diablo Teams continue to listen to feedback after the cold boo response during the BlizzCon Diablo Immortal panel. Nevalistis revealed that multiple Diablo projects will be announced.

We continue to read feedback and our internal discussions are ongoing. We have many plans for Diablo across multiple projects which we’ll be revealing over the course of the coming year. We are eager to share more about all of our projects, but some will have to wait as we prefer to show you, rather than tell you, about them. It’s going to take some time as we strive to meet your expectations, but now, more than ever, we are committed to delivering Diablo experiences the community can be proud of.

– The Diablo Teams -

 

ANALYSIS

We continue to read feedback and our internal discussions are ongoing.

The main feedback they are getting is: THERE. WAS. NO. DIABLO III. CONTENT. ANNOUNCED. FOR. PC/CONSOLES. In order for the Diablo Team to listen and act upon feedback, the only way they can really proof that is by working on Diablo III content that satisfies the core fanbase of that game. Otherwise, it would be a lie. I don’t think the latter.

Another thing that concerns me about “internal discussions” is that they have taken a sour long time to respond. Twitter and YouTube and even the forums have been very silent since November 2-3. The response to the irated fanbase should have been swift straight from the very president of Blizzard Entertainment and the Diablo III game director to soothe the animus.

We have many plans for Diablo across multiple projects which we’ll be revealing over the course of the coming year.

BlizzCon has a specific schedule for games. Usually, 2 panels per game. I can’t see these Multiple Projects being announced simultaneously at BlizzCon in separate panels.

The focus here is on “over the course” — which from my point of view means we should expect at least one Diablo game announcement per event. And it can be any of these:

  • PAX East (March 28-31)
  • E3 (June 11-13)
  • GamesCom (August 20-24)
  • BlizzCon (unknown)

Can Blizzard announce a new Diablo game at PAX East? Yes. I was invited to the Press-Only Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer pack demo/presentation at the hotel (located next to the Boston Convention Center).

Can Blizzard announce a new Diablo game at E3? Yes. Danny was there. At E3 2015, Blizzard announced Heroes of the Storm: Eternal Conflict and he interviewed the developers. In addition, Blizzard also announced StarCraft II: Whispers of Oblivion. E3 2019 is ripe for a Diablo Project announcement. In 2018, E3 had 69,200 attendees.

Can Blizzard announce a new Diablo game at GamesCom? Of course. Handclaw has been there multiple years in a row and interviewed game developers. In 2017: Legion 7.3 interview and Heroes of the Storm (Kel’Thuzad). In GamesCom 2016, Legion, Heroes of the Storm: Machines of War, and Overwatch’s Eichenwalde map.

This year will be very exciting if all of these Diablo Projects are revealed. We’ll see. In the meantime, our team has applied (or will when registration opens) for press badges to be there for you.

We are eager to share more about all of our projects, but some will have to wait as we prefer to show you

This one is pretty clear, and it explains why Diablo IV or Diablo III: X was not announced at BlizzCon 2018. Blizzard now has a policy to show what they announce, rather than just talk about it, or display screenshots or videos about it.

What Nevalistis is saying in this sentence is: when the playable demo is ready, we will announce the game and let you play the demo right there.

Why is this exciting?

  • If Multiple Projects are in development…
  • If these will be revealed in 2019….
  • If their demo will be playable on the floor…

Then… their release date is within grasp. Some possibly/maybe as soon as Summer/Fall 2019. Others probably Summer/Fall 2020+.

And I can tell you that Diablo II: Remastered won’t take long after Warcraft III: Reforged ships. StarCraft: Remastered (a sprite game) took one year to develop and ship.

Is Diablo IV in development? Well, there are rumors out there in the wild (cough: Fenris), but the answer is we don’t know. The Kotaku’s allegued leak stated that a “Diablo III expansion” was cancelled. Going by the rumor, then… what makes sense is to develop the next game after Diablo III.

There is a Unannounced Project category in the Blizzard Careers website that tags job openings as “Diablo.”

It can be Diablo IV. Or a Diablo MMO. One thing I can tell you I am 100% certain of… it is a PC game. How do I know?

The Software Engineer, Diablo job opening clearly states: Knowledge of DirectX 11+ or OpenGL APIs.

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BlizzCon 2019 Panel Transcripts