Activision Blizzard stood on stage at BlizzCon 2018 and delivered shocking news to the Diablo fanbase. A majority of the community was expecting the unveiling of Diablo 4, which was highly-anticipated following the success of its predecessor, Diablo 3. That never happened, and instead, a new mobile game was announced called Diablo Immortal. One year later at Blizzcon 2019, Activision Blizzard officially announced that Diablo 4 was in development.
Much to the relief of fans in attendance, the long-awaited product had fans excited about a new Diablo game once again. Six years following Diablo 3's debut in 2013, the community began to wait in anticipation when the game would be released. After the announcement, Blizzard slowly began to release development updates on its progress. Each one tackled a specific topic related to the game's mechanics or a feature that is coming out with the game's debut. With over two weeks remaining until Blizzard's next conference, an important update was shared about Diablo 4's future.
Activision Blizzard announced on Thursday that Diablo 4 is not expected to debut in 2021. Coupled with the report of Overwatch 2 facing the same prediction, gamers will have to wait to these two popular titles for another year. Executives on the call did not go into more detail on either product, but it's safe to say a 2022 release date for Diablo 4 is more realistic, outside of other extraneous variables that were kept private.
More news was shared during the earnings call about the company' success in the latter portion of 2020. Diablo Immortal is continuing regional testing and more players will have their hands on the game moving forward. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is proving to be a successful expansion after looking at positive trends with the player base several months following its release. The Overwatch League is also prepping for season four that is slated to start in April of 2021.
Also, a new Call of Duty game is set to come out in 2021 and according to gaming journalist Rod Breslau, Activision Blizzard reported over $8 billion in revenue for 2020. It's not a secret Call of Duty is a primary force behind that figure. Warzone is arguably the most-popular game in the world currently, with a plentiful amount of content creators playing it daily. Diablo 4 will figure into Activision Blizzard's 2022 plans at this time. A huge update regarding the highly-anticipated game is expected to be released at BlizzConline 2021, which is slated for February 19.
Diablo 4 is currently in development.
Sources: Slasher/Twitter, Activision Blizzard