Diablo IV is in development and nothing you say will break my Hope

BlizzCon is nigh three weeks in the past, but the so-called “Fiasco” still resonates in the internet-waves. It doesn’t matter that Blizzard warned [twice] not to expect a Diablo IV announcement. On that faction of irrated fans’ defense, however, Blizzard should also have warned that it wasn’t about Diablo III, either.

To understand the fans reaction, the core aspect of what triggered the “boo” is that — fans were expecting new Diablo III content (i.e. expansion or DLC pack). With lack of info about new Diablo III content, people (some which only play Diablo III) who spent nearly $1000 or more between Flight, hotel, taxi, food, and a BlizzCon ticket traveled for nothing.

YouTube streamers like Rhykker who mostly depend on YouTube Revenue affiliate program, now have no new content to talk about and stream in their channel. I totally get it.

However, a fan myself of Blizzard lore and of playing their games, I refuse to lose hope. Diablo IV is in development and nothing you say will break my hope.

I am the fanboy that loves Blizzard games. I am the fanboy that gets angry. I am the fanboy that enjoys playing, and the fanboy that curses when I dislike something. But a true fanboy also forgives, pleas, petitions, shares feedback, sits back and waits for that feedback to be heard. And, oh boy! Has Blizzard heard feedback at BlizzCon this year.

Now that three weeks have gone by, breath deep, relax, start to cool down the anger, and repeat with me:

“Diablo IV is in development and nothing you say will break my hope.”

We know what many of you are hoping for and we can only say that “good things come to those who wait,” but evil things often take longer. We appreciate your patience as our teams work tirelessly to create nightmarish experiences worthy of the Lord of Terror. — October 17, 2018

“We know what many of you are hoping for…” What are we waiting for? What are YOU waiting for? That’s right: Diablo IV.

Nevalistis: The forges here at Blizzard are burning hot, and we have multiple Diablo projects in the works. Some of them are going to take longer than others. — August 8, 2018

Multiple projects:

1. Diablo Immortal (mobile: iOS/Android) — confirmed
2. Diablo II: Remastered — unannounced but 1+Y= 2
3. Diablo IV
4. Diablo III DLC pack (Necromancer was the first one. Will Amazon or Druid be next?)
5. More?

Let’s start with Diablo II: Remastered. We know that StarCraft: Remastered shipped on August 14, 2017. On November 2017, Brian Sousa said to Danny during our interview

Brian Sousa: Of course, we have talked about what’s next for the Classic Games team. Those kinda things that bring back Warcraft 1, Warcraft II, Warcraft III, Diablo 1, Diab– you know, anything that we have is technically open to doing so.

What we are focusing on now is actually the games that we know that are still being played and loved like Warcraft III and Diablo II. Getting those two up onto the modern Battle.net platform. Making sure that their experience with those games that are still being played work well with all of our other titles.

So Brevik can say whatever about remastering that, but my brave rooster Brian here didn’t flinch. We’ll have to wait and see… and believe me, it won’t be long. In the same interview, Brian said StarCraft: Remastered took one year of development.

Warcraft III: Reforged was announced, and pre-orders are available. In case you didn’t notice, when the Warcraft III: Reforged logo appeared on your Battle.net Launcher there was a 1.2GB file size downloaded. Seems to me beta testing might be in the horizon in 2019.

DIABLO III

Either this job opening was meant for Diablo II: Remastered, or Diablo III silently passed to the hands of the Classic Games team. (Posted on September 18, 2018). Why I claim the latter?

“Investigate opportunities for the future of the Diablo franchise.”
“Experience developing on multiple platforms”

There are two possible scenarios here: Either Diablo II: Remastered is coming to PC/Consoles/Nintendo Switch (but how is that allowing investigation for the future of the Diablo franchise?) … or… Diablo III is now a permanent resident of the Classic Games team.

That said, if the latter is true, what is the former Diablo III team busy on if Diablo III no longer belongs to them? For how long? And don’t say: Diablo Immortal, because Wyatt Cheng clearly stated there are multiple Diablo teams. Moreover, Diablo Immortal is part of the Incubation team led by Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham.

Repeat with me: “Diablo IV is in development and nothing you say will break my Hope.”

If the Rise of the Necromancer pack was the first of future DLC packs for Diablo III, a good candidate for DLC pack #2 is the Amazon. Tyrael has a conversation in-game at the Survivor’s Enclave (in Westmarch) about missing Horadrim members he hasn’t heard back from. A group of Horadrim he sent to Skovos Isles. Seems like a plot that hasn’t been followed up for a while. Hints of things to come?

Tyrael: Lorath, I haven’t heard from the Horadrim we sent to the Skovos Isles.

Lorath: Skovos is a dangerous land.

Tyrael: I hate to think that any more of our order could come to harm.

Lorath: All of us know the risks, Tyrael. But we believe in the new Horadrim.

Last time Blizzard announced a major content for Diablo III was the Rise of the Necromancer pack… at PAX East 2017. Blizzard invited me to the press-only event held at the hotel across the street near the Boston Convention Center. Would it make sense to announce the Amazon or Druid pack at… PAX East 2019 this upcoming March 28-31? (Hope is strong).

Now concerning Diablo III, recently I posted: “Nevalistis teased Blizzard is not done with Diablo III during @Rhykker’s BlizzCon Livestream. She mentioned BLOGS that will be posted post-BlizzCon… which fits with what she hinted in The Future of Diablo.”

Nevalistis: “I gotta say, we have some stuff coming for Diablo III. For next Season. We will have more to talk about later. Honestly, it came down to… I am in the process of working on some blogs and things like that; and I just couldn’t get them done before BlizzCon. So it had to wait until after BlizzCon. But we are not done with Diablo III. We are not done with Diablo III.”

It is been three weeks since BlizzCon, where Nevalistis told that quote to Rhykker during a livestream. As of today, only one of these BLOGS have been posted (PTR 2.6.4 Patch Notes), and if any of them will be posted in 2018, it has to happen before Christmas. What new could be coming to Diablo III?

Diablo IV

Back on September 17, 2017 — This job opening was under the “Unannounced Project” category at the same time that there was a separate “Incubation” category (Which means it is not a mobile game), and at the same time that there was a “Classic Games” category (which means it is not a Remastered game either).

Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm already existed in September 2017 when that “Unannounced Project” category was posted. So… let’s take a wild guess about what this mystery unannounced game is.

Repeat with me: “Diablo IV is in development and nothing you say will break my Hope.”

Image below posted on September 17, 2017.

PRESENT

As of November 18, 2018 the Unannounced Game career page sports 68 job openings — in addition to all the positions that have been filled since at least 2017, if not much earlier.

If Diablo Immortal is an MMO for mobile devices, it seems logical that Diablo IV (or whatever it ends up being named as) might be a persistent-world MMOARPG with dungeons exclusive to PC/Consoles with a massive team of developers ready to pump out major content patches several times per year, as well as expansions.

The Diablo III engine is old by now. Not particularly as flexible as a MMO can be. Whereas an MMO can scale and grow, and be profitable for Blizzard (depending the business model).

Repeat with me: “Diablo IV is in development and nothing you say will break my Hope.”

SKOVOS ISLES

From the official Diablo II: Lord of Destruction website:

”The Amazons are women warriors who hail from a group of islands in the Twin Seas, near the border of the Great Ocean. Only the permanently snow-covered peak of Mount Karcheus breaks the expanses of lush forests on the islands.

The Amazon people are a relatively isolated culture. Adapting over the centuries to their tropical milieu, they have built magnificent cities in the forest canopy. These cities are an architectural phenomenon and a source of great pride to the Amazon people. They do not follow the teachings of the Zakarum, but instead practice a polytheistic religion that adheres to the strict principles of Order. Their oracles long ago predicted the Dark Exile, and they have been preparing to combat it ever since. Amazons regard the destruction of the Three Prime Evils as their destiny, ushering in a new era when mortal men and women can at long last take their rightful place in the universe, no longer merely playthings for the beings of the Outer Realms.

The Amazons are a seafaring people, one of the first to have made trade contact with both the Kingdoms of the West and with Kejhistan in the East. Their prominence in the world’s trade establishment has afforded their warriors the reputation they currently enjoy as cunning strategists and skilled combatants. They are much sought after as mercenaries, being both expert soldiers as well as extremely loyal – as long as the assignment does not conflict with their strict sense of ethics.

Their pantheon of gods consists of a well-defined hierarchy, each member upholding some segment of the balance of Order. It is this strong sense of order that drives the Amazon people to achieve greatness in even the smallest of their endeavors. Their prime deity is Athulua who, with her consort, Kethryes, rules over the seasons and the weather. Under these Goddesses are a wide assortment of lesser deities, each responsible for his or her own sphere of influence among the Amazon people’s daily life. The Amazons believe this pantheon is the remnant of the original inhabitants that settled the islands centuries ago. According to ancient records, they share the same names as these gods, although aspects of their personalities seem to have evolved over the centuries.

In the Amazon culture, only the women serve as warriors, their intrinsic superior dexterity and lithe body structures are better suited to combat in the dense rainforest environs of the islands. Their society is far from stratified, however, as men are responsible for any number of positions in the community, government, and clergy, as well as merchant and agricultural occupations.”

At some point, Skovos Isles and Ureh were planned for Diablo III. The developers, Leonard Boyarsky and Brian Kindregan answered a question about Skovos Isles back in 2014. Brian was positive Skovos Isles might happen in the future: “You never know.” However, both Brian and Leonard are no longer Blizzard developers.

Leonard left on April 2016, and currently works at Obsidian Entertainment. Brian left on June 2016. He has worked at Epic Games and now at Ubisoft Montreal, since.

However, Reaper of Souls launched on March 25, 2014 leaving us with that intriguing Tyrael and Lorath conversation about Horadrim members sent to the Skovos Isles. Before, we could have said, nope. Not happening. But then we got the Rise of the Necromancer DLC pack. A new class, and new lands to explore: Realms of Fate, Shrouded Moors and the Temple of the Firstborn. That opened the door for more packs in the future. Can the Amazon DLC pack add the new class and Skovos Isles? Who knows.

Image (2008-2012): Official Diablo III wallpaper featuring the Skovos Isles.

UPDATE (November 21): Kotaku claims to have talked with 11 developers (a mix of current and former developers) that confirmed the following:

“Fenris is, all of our sources have confirmed, the current incarnation of Diablo IV. Blizzard’s Team 3 has been working on this version of the game since 2016, and some who have seen it say they’re optimistic about the direction. “[Design director] Luis [Barriga] has a very strong vision for that game,” said a former employee, “one that a lot of people are excited about at Blizzard.”

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