Revision as of 11:49, 13 April 2008

Blizzard has never made any official statemetns about D3, Diablo online, or any other possible future games in the series.

legitimate news sources about d3 info.

The Rumor Mill

Aside from numerous small rumors about Diablo III, most of them clearly speculative and hopeful predictions about impending announcement/release dates, there have been a few major rumors, the accuracy of which remains to be determined.

Early Work Trashed

It's known and confirmed through private channels (though not officially by Blizzard) that the version of Diablo III the Diablo II team had been working at Blizzard North was dumped and the game's development was essentially began anew, from scratch, in late 2003 after Blizzard North was shut down. Why the new Diablo III team didn't continue on with the initial version of the game is unknown; the new team might have wanted to do their own game, the original version might have been too similar to what WoW became, or too similar to what Diablo II was, or it might not have been very good. That's what Brian Crecente reported ² on Kotaku on August 8, 2005:

I just got an interesting update about Diablo 3. Rumor has it that the current work on Diablo 3 was canceled and that the game is going to be completely reworked. My tipsters tell me that Blizzard North's work on the game was, to put it kindly, below expectations. While this is mildly disappointing, it's nice to know that Blizzard still so zealously guards their name.

This news does help paint a broader picture about the closing of Blizzard North. I'm not saying the two incidents are related, but they may be.

Chris Hartgraves

The next big rumor about Diablo III turned up about a year later. As the tale goes, a Blizzard employee named Chris Hartgraves left the company in late 2005, and promptly spilled all he knew about ongoing projects at Blizzard. In an email posted on a World of Warcraft fansite forum¹ on October 28, 2005, Chris was quoted saying the following about Diablo III:

It is about Diablo 3. Last week they had a thing called "Show N Tell" which they have every 6 months to all the full time employees - Anyways Diablo 3 takes place in heaven. Hell is trying to take it over and it is AWESOME looking ... I magine the brightness of heaven being taken over by the darkness of hell ... Imagine WoW but in a Diablo world in amount of size and playability ... Also, guild housing is available in this game for those of you who know about it. They should have a gameplay demo to show at BlizzCon.

There was no way to confirm this account of Diablo III, since, contrary to Hartgraves' prediction, the game did not debut at the 2005 BlizCon, and still hasn't made an appearance, more than 2.5 years later. That doesn't do much to argue for Hartgraves' claims, and they would be forgotten by now if not for the fact that he also said Starcraft II was under production long before it was officially announced. He also made several predictions about World of Warcraft in the same email, and most of them turned out to be accurate.

Hartgraves' Diablo III comments were echoed, or backed up, by a pointless obscure post³ GamingSteve.com, on February 3, 2006.

I don't want to get any of my friends at Blizzard in trouble, so from instead of mentioning "Diablo III" let's call this theoretical game "Beelzebub 3" and instead of "Blizzard" let's call them "Snowstorm".

"Snowstorm" is indeed working on "Beelzebub 3". Not only are they working on it, but they have been working on this game for no less than the past four years. In fact, "Snowstorm North" nearly completed the game several years ago, but what they developed just "wasn't fun" and been quietly reworked. This was actually one of the key reasons why Snowstorm North was closed and everyone was relocated to Irvine-based Snowstorm, so that the bigwigs in Irvine could better track and follow the development of Beelzebub 3.

...It is true that Beelzebub 3 will be done in true 3D and it did indeed look freaking awesome. It is also true that Beelzebub 3 features a story between the conflicts of Heaven and Hell and contains a very cool feature where every single item in the game can change between a "light" version and a "dark" version. However this was also one of the problems with the original version of the game. Other than the ability for any item to visually change from light to dark it didn't affect the actual stats of the item or change the gameplay in any way. So the game has gone through a total rework to inject some "fun" into the gameplay and to make it feel like the Beelzebubs of old.

The core gameplay Beelzebub 3 will play pretty much like Beelzebub 1 and 2, but the game world will be much larger and provide a much deeper experience -- many more items, more levels when you go through the game for first time, more skills, more of everything. In addition, the multiplayer aspect will be greatly enhanced from the past installments and don't be surprised to see more than a couple of WoW-based concepts to leak over into the Beelzebub 3 universe ... such as two opposing factions (Alliance and Horde = Heaven and Hell), enhanced guild functionality, and maybe even mounts?!

Like the leak from Hartgraves, there's no confirmation of this yet, and it's been more than two years since it was posted. The plot concept, of playing the Heavens, is only logical. After all, players descended into the Hells in Act Four of Diablo II, and the game world's mythology features numerous battles between the Angels and the Demons, along with constant interference/assistance from the archangel Tyrael. Most of the other predictions are pretty common sense too; of course the game is fully in 3D, and of course there will be expanded online play, guild housing, faction warfare, and so forth. Those features are all but mandatory in an online RPG these days.

The Big Four Leave Blizzard North

First somewhat shocked. PR from Blizzard about the departures. June 30, 2003.

More composed announcement later that day. Note the last sentence:

"I speak for everyone in our company when I say how grateful we are to have had the opportunity to work closely with this group of individuals. Each one of them has made valuable contributions to many of our games, and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work over the years. We wish them nothing but the best and are confident that they will be successful in their future endeavors," stated Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder.

"At the same time, we want to convey that Blizzard's success has never been attributable to any one person or small group of individuals, and I am confident that we have the teams in place to continue creating some of the best games in the world."

Blizzard does not believe that these resignations will cause any significant delays or have long-term negative effects on the "Diablo®" series or other projects in development.

The last line was patently ridiculous, since both projects underway at Blizzard North were frozen shortly after this announcement, then essentially canceled when Blizzard North was closed down in late 2003, at which time almost all the remaining Diablo team (most of whom had already quit) left the company.

Blizzard Job Openings

Blizzard's Employment Opportunities page lists dozens of job openings at the ever-growing company, and quite a few of the designer, artist, programmer, and other game-related jobs are tagged with a Top Secret icon. Other icons are for World of Warcraft and Starcraft II, the only announced Blizzard games.

As for the job openings themselves, quite a few sound like they are overtly for a position on the Diablo Sequel, whether it's an MMO or not. A couple of current openings, as of April 2008.

Lead 3D Level Designer
The team behind Diablo I and II is looking for a skilled lead 3D level designer with experience building levels using Maya or other similar 3D level building tools. The ideal candidate has experience creating levels in a senior or lead role on a shipped game. We would also like for this candidate to have excellent analytical understanding of competitive online play with various Blizzard Entertainment games and mods (real-time strategy, World of Warcraft, Defense of the Ancients, etc.).
Associate 3D Level Designer
Blizzard Entertainment, the developer of Diablo and Diablo II, is looking for an associate 3D environment artist skilled at creating models and texture maps for both objects and natural environments. The ideal candidate has experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments. A solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets is essential. The associate environment artist must have a skill in another art task as well (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing) and be well-versed in related tools -- Maya, Photoshop, etc.

Additionally, of the 25 or so "Top Secret" job openings, about half say something about the title being a "Next Generation MMO." None of these openings mention Diablo. Conversely, none of the job openings that start off with a mention of Diablo (such as the two quoted above) say anything about a Next Gen MMO. Coincidence? Or evidence that the Diablo sequel is not an MMO, but that Blizzard is working on another game that is? Senior Blizzard employees have gone on record in 2008 as saying that they are not currently working on a World of Warcraft sequel, though this doesn't rule out additional WoW expansions, which seem almost certain given the game's titanic popularity.

This seems to point to a careful effort in their job opening posts to avoid connecting Diablo with MMO. This seems intentional, and it could be trickery to throw off 'Diablo Online speculation, or it could be an indication that in addition that Diablo III is not going to be an MMO, and that Blizzard is working on an unannounced MMO, one set in the world of Starcraft, or in an entirely new gaming world. Given that they are currently working on Starcraft II as an RTS, it seems like overkill to work on Starcraft Online as well... or does it, considering that WoW was released not long after Warcraft III?

July 13, 2007

Third project underway. Not Starcraft Ghost. WoW and SC2 and _______.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14691 Talking to Gamasutra, Frank Pearce, founding member and senior vice president of product development for Blizzard revealed that the company has a third team hard at work on a new title, separate from World of Warcraft and StarCraft II.

The comment came amid discussion of the company's current workforce. "Our global headcount is 2,700," said Pearce, "And most of that is customer service for World of Warcraft! In terms of development staff it’s probably around 350. World of Warcraft is about 135 people, 40 for Starcraft II, 40 for team 3, our cinematics team is about 85 guys. Then there’s sound and Q/A and that sort of thing."

When pressed for details regarding the new project, Pearce was cagey. "Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can’t give you any hints, but it’s totally awesome."

August 5, 2007

"Diablo ... well, it is obviously a very important franchise to us. And I would say, that as with Starcraft and Warcraft, we will certainly get back to it at some point. We are focusing currently on World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and content associated with World of Warcraft and Starcraft II. We do have some other things in development, and we are not ready to talking about it yet, but what I can say is that we do love that franchise. And its something that we will get to revisit at some point." -- Paul Sams, Blizzard VP of Business Operations

October 26, 2006

BlizzPlanet [1] with Richard Knaak, author of some of the Diablo novels.

Question: How much of the book is creation of yours, and how involved is Chris Metzen behind the canon storyline of Diablo: The Sin War Trilogy? Do you think the ramifications of this book impact in the storyline of Diablo 3 the game?
Knaak: This is a pure collaboration between myself and Chris Metzen/Blizzard. All that is written is passed by him and the others there. This will be canon and has adjusted earlier info. The ramifications here will be used for any future project ... and I ain't writing for a dead game. :)
Question: So ... Diablo 3?
Knaak: I am not writing for a dead world ... but a world with dead. 'nuff said!

June 14, 2006

Some confusion after media coverage of a Vivendi Games presentation reported that all future bliz games would be mmos, thanks to the massive success of wow. Official refutation from bliz via their forums.

I believe this was a misquote. We haven't announced any specific development plans beyond the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, and we don't have any intentions to focus on only one genre or platform with our future games.

May 11, 2006

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/worldofwarcraftexp1/news.html?sid=6150919

When asked by GameSpot if the Warcraft universe was all that's left for the company to mine, chief operating officer Paul Sams said, "No. Absolutely not. We have multiple games in development, currently, they are just not announced...to the outside world--and the reality of it is--we are laser focused on what is the thing right then, but there's a ton of additional focus being put toward these other [games] that are in development."

Reflecting on the existing franchises, Sams emphasized, "World of Warcraft and the Warcraft franchise is not the last and the only franchise we are going to operate within. We have two other very, very key franchises to our company's history and to our company's future success. The Diablo and Starcraft franchises are of the utmost importance to us as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new franchise from us at some time in the future; there's certainly a desire to do so."

A PR rep later expanded on Sams' statement, clarifying that not only were there "multiple games" in development, but that Blizzard was considering "multiple platforms" for those titles. The spokesperson confirmed that the company was looking at both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but that a decision as to which platform might get the nod had not been made.

February 2, 2006

Gamespot picks up news about all the Diablo II team positions in new jobs on the bliz site. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6143594.html

December 1, 2005

Site visitor Parke popped a note over to say that Hyboreal Games have changed the wording of Michio Okamura biography on the official site to read "unannounced project" instead of "unannounced sequel". Another indication that Diablo III was/is in the works and Hyboreal thought it best to change the text? The plot thickens.

Update: Lanth mailed in to point out this tidbit from Stefan Scandizzo's bio on the Castaway Games website:

   He continued his level designing in Diablo II’s expansion: Lord of Destruction. In 2000, Stefan started producing 3D monsters for the character team for an unannounced upcoming sequel.

Stefan worked on D2 and D2X, before leaving Bliz North back in 2003.

October 28, 2005

Wild and wow expansion rumors from an alleged former bliz employee. the wow stuff turned out to be quite accurate, but the d3 is still classified entirely as rumor. Now 2.5 year old rumor.

Blizzard will also use the BlizzCon event to introduce Diablo 3 to gamers and if the excitement of Blizzard employees is anything to go by, the game will be a big deal. According to a message sent to WoW Guru by former Blizzard employee Chris Hartgraves, Diablo 3 takes place in heaven. Hell is trying to take it over and it is AWESOME looking ... Imagine the brightness of heaven being taken over by the darkness of hell ... Imagine WoW but in a Diablo world in amount of size and playability ... Also, guild housing is available in this game for those of you who know about it. They should have a gameplay demo to show at BlizzCon.

August 1, 2005

Blizzard North studios shut down and blizzard operations centralized in Irvine. Most of the long time Bliz North employees have already quit; most of the rest do now, many joining Flagship Studios, Castaway Studios, or other companies.

"We're looking forward to having our PC development teams together in Irvine," stated Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "In addition to improving our efficiency as a company, the relocation also represents an opportunity for all of our teams to have regular, direct input on each other's projects." Blizzard does not believe that these changes will cause significant delays on any of its projects in development. The company released its subscription-based massively multi-player online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, at the end of 2004 and is continuing work on StarCraft: Ghost, its upcoming tactical-action console game set in the award-winning StarCraft universe. Plans for future products will be revealed at a later date.

April 27, 2005

d3 music recording session? http://www.diabloii.net/newsupdates/archive/arc9.php

We received an email today from a Diablo fan and classical musician in the Czech Republic.

   I am musician in Czech Republic. I play not with one orchestra but with many depending on work. I have recently been to Bratislava in Slovak Republic for recording sessions with local Radio Symphony Orchestra, where we just recorded music for Diablo 3.

For some historical perspective, check the Battle.net page with the D2X:LoD bonus mp3s. Scroll down a bit and you can read news and see pictures from Blizzard's recording session for the D2X music, held in Bratislava, Slovakia, with the Slovak Radio Philharmonic. Those sessions were carried out in early 2001, before the game's release that June, so perhaps D3 is further along than we've been assuming? Either that or they're recording the music earlier in the game's production cycle than they did for D2X.

Update: More from the musician:

   I did not find the people from Blizzard in the studio, but composer (Ulman?) was there and conductor was named Kirk Trevor, I think he is from England but he conducts in Bratislava much and also in some other cities in Czech Republic like Zlin.

   The music is again, like in Diablo 2 expansion, very much based on Wagner. In Diablo 2 expansion there are many plases in Act 5 that take directly from Wagners opera "Tristan and Isolde". This time for Diablo 3 there was music similar to Wagner operas "Lohengrin" and also "Siegfried" from Ring cycle. But this is not so bad that he takes from these things, almost all movie composers borow Wagner music, like Williams for Star Wars and others like Nino Rota who made music for Fellini's films.

   So now when Diablo 3 is finished I must buy, maybe I will hear all my mistakes (I play percusion instruments).

Unannounced Projects

While Sams wasn't ready to spill the beans just yet, he did say Blizzard "will have a major product announcement in 2007," and that Blizzard was currently working on at least three other unannounced titles at the moment." -- IGN, 8-28-06

Domain Names and Trademarks

Blizzard Entertainment owns numerous domain names for future Diablo products. www.diablo3.eu www.diablo3.es Diablo4.fr

May 28, 2004 diablo2.fr, diablo3.fr. vivendi owned.

Diablo II: Salvation was a title Blizzard registered years ago, apparently to use for a potential Diablo movie. I remembered hearing the name long ago, and a search turned it up in our news archives, way back on 27, 2001. Since they haven't done anything with it yet, I think we can chalk it up to just another trademark bought and not used. This happens all the time in business, which is why we aren't getting too excited about that "The Burning Crusade" trademark.

Ricard sends word that on 24th March 2006 Blizzard registered the diablo3.es (Spain) domain. They recently also aquired the diablo3.de domain from a third party.

People

July 2003: Big 4 leave Bliz North, many others follow them. Flagship Studios announced shortly afterwards.

July 11, 2003: Blizzard names Rick Seis new head of Bliz north.

http://castawayentertainment.com/news.html

REDWOOD CITY, CA – September 6, 2005 - Castaway Entertainment is proud to announce that former Blizzard North studio lead Rick Seis has accepted the position of Technical Director and lead programmer for their current unannounced project.

References

1. http://www.wowguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9257

2. http://kotaku.com/gaming/diablo-3/diablo-3-trashed-116290.php

3. http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/2006/02/rumor_diablo_ii.php

@@ Line 209: / Line 209: @@
 . [http://www.wowguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9257 http://www.wowguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9257]
+. [http://kotaku.com/gaming/diablo-3/diablo-3-trashed-116290.php http://kotaku.com/gaming/diablo-3/diablo-3-trashed-116290.php]
+. [http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/2006/02/rumor_diablo_ii.php http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/2006/02/rumor_diablo_ii.php]

Difference between revisions of "Diablo 3"