Diablo III’s closed beta is currently underway – our own Nick is busy with it and you can expect his impressions soon. You might imagine that the game would be nearing release, and that you’d be able to join in the click frenzy this year as Blizzard intended.
I’m afraid not, Diablo fans – as the game’s been delayed to early 2012.
“We commonly use the term “soon” when referring to Blizzard releases, because we know that no matter how hard we’re working to reach a target, we’re not going to compromise and launch a game before it’s ready. For Diablo III, we were aiming to launch by the end of 2011. As we’re announcing globally today, our new target for the game is early 2012,”Blizzard said on its blog.
The accompanying press release had this to say :
"With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn’t put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we’re taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers."
Hardly surprising, but disappointing nonetheless – although it does give you every reason to hate Nick even more.
Last Updated: September 23, 2011
