For as long as fans have been waiting on Diablo III to hit stores, any confirmation of a release date is apt to make the game seem like it's coming out tomorrow. Blizzard's dark fantasy PC title has been in development for over a decade now, and even its legion of Hell-and-back followers were beginning to criticize such a prolonged development cycle. That being said, its flashy cinematic at last years VGA's sent a clear message that D-day for the game was quickly approaching.
Indeed, the eager anxiety, outspoken skepticism, and downright frustration over Diablo III's development time can now all be tossed into the flaming abyss. The doomsday-themed action role playing game will be hitting stores on May 15 in the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Russia can purchase the game digitally until hard copies become available on June 7.
Aside from releasing in just about every country that isn't banned from the United Nations, Developer Blizzard Entertainment announced in its press release that Diablo III is now accepting pre-orders from aspiring denizens of Sanctuary.
Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard has been with the project since its genesis and knows firsthand how far it has come:
“After many years of hard work by our development team and months of beta testing by hundreds of thousands of dedicated players around the world, we’re now in the homestretch. We look forward to putting the final polish on Diablo III over the next two months and delivering the ultimate action-RPG experience to gamers worldwide starting on May 15.”
Despite a few recent disparaging announcements (delayed PvP at launch, delayed companion pets and reforging scrolls at launch, Diablo III's senior producer jumping ship) Diablo III isn't going anywhere as one of our most anticipated releases this year. Blizzard has assured us that the game is in great shape - and since the clarity provided by a release date alone feels like the end of an era, we're inclined to believe them.
Ranters, how does it feel to have official word of Diablo III's release? Will the decade-long development cycle produce a game of unrivaled quality?
Diablo III releases for the PC and Mac on May 15, 2012. A console version is also in the works for an unspecified date.
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