Activision Blizzard is preparing to announce their financial results for the period of the fourth quarter of 2011. What makes this event of interest to non-shareholders is that Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime has used this platform in the past to make official announcements such as the StarCraft II beta approximate launch date, upcoming WoW virtual pets, the approximate release date of StarCraft II, and the launch of Diablo III beta.

Recently, Jay Wilson said during the 15th Anniversary of Diablo videos that Diablo III was almost done.

      “We are almost done with Diablo III, and that’s a fitting celebration of the 15th year anniversary for Diablo. So, we are getting it to you as soon as we can.” — said Jay Wilson.

As Blizzplanet network manager Eldorian pointed out during our chat a few minutes ago, it was said Diablo III would be out early 2012.

Digging around in our archives, I found the quote stating Diablo III is coming early 2012. It was a quote by Mike Morhaime on November 8, 2011 during the ATVI Q3 2011 Conference Call.

      “On the Diablo III front, we’re still targeting an early 2012 launch. We’ve been collecting great feedback from our ongoing beta test, and Blizzcon; and the team is using that feedback to continue polishing and improving the game.” — said Mike Morhaime. — Source (Read the full transcript)

Today, Jay Wilson posted an article titled System Changes which reveals the developers are cleaning up the game. The Mystic Artisan was removed from Diablo III, considerably shortening polishing time, and making the game closer to be on players’ hands.

Being a platform to report to shareholders the financial results, and to report upcoming revenue projections, the ATVI Q4 2011 conference call could be a very good timng to announce an approximate launch date of Diablo III and/or StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.

To be clear, it’s not official that Mike Morhaime will make these announcements. It’s a possibility.

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ATVI Conference Call History

Press Release

Activision Blizzard to Release Fourth Quarter and Calendar Year 2011 Results on February 9, 2012

SANTA MONICA, Calif. , Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) intends to release its fourth quarter and calendar year 2011 results after the close of the market on Thursday, February 9, 2012 . In conjunction with this release, Activision Blizzard will host a conference call that will be broadcast over the Internet.

Thursday, February 9, 2012
1:30 pm Pacific Time ( 4:30 pm Eastern Time )

To listen to the call, please log onto:
https://ir.activisionblizzard.com/events.cfm

Or dial:

U.S. and Canada: 888-481-2845
International: 719-325-2122
Passcode: 8472934

Anyone planning to dial in to the call should RSVP to Pam Beaver at:
E-mail: PBeaver@activision.com