Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 Delayed to 2023 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 November 2021 / 1,705 Views
Activision Blizzard in an earnings call with investors today announced it has delayed Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 from 2022 to 2023.
Diablo IV was previously announced for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, while Overwatch 2 was announced for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. With a delay to 2023 a release on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is likely.
"As we have worked with new leadership in Blizzard and within the franchises themselves, particularly in certain key creative roles, it has become apparent that some of the Blizzard content planned for next year will benefit from more development time to reach its full potential," said Activision Blizzard COO Daniel Alegre.
"While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged.
"These are two of the most eagerly anticipated titles in the industry, and our teams have made great strides towards completion in recent quarters. But we believe giving the teams some extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch will ensure that these releases delight and engage their communities for many years into the future.
"These decisions will push out the financial uplift that we had expected to see next year. But we are confident that this is the right course of action for our people, our players, and the long-term success of our franchises."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Overwatch lacked content... So if they keep Overwatch 2 cooking longer in the oven... Then that is a good thing.
Diablo 4 I am not fussed about... Still playing through Diablo 2 and having a blast, so I can wait.
At this point, I feel the right thing to do (especially for Overwatch 2) is to only develop them for the current-gen systems, PS5 and Xbox Series (along with PC obviously). No reason to be held back by the older consoles. I say Overwatch 2 especially as that is a live-service game with evolving maps and modes; no reason for some new idea for a map to come up that is really big or complex or whatever, only for them to realize it's next to impossible to pull off on Xbox One and PS4 and have to downgrade their vision for it. And heck, by 2023, we may have a Switch successor or at least an announcement of one and these titles could come to that platform as well.
shame shame shame!
what a huge shame for diablo 4 to get delayed!
Wasn't expecting Diablo until 2023 at the earliest anyway tbh.
D4 I can understand but I thought OW2 was nearly there, ah well. Stopped playing Overwatch a while ago, just didn't keep my attention with the content offered.
Plus the actual Director of Diablo IV got fired a couple months ago, assumingly tied to the sexual harassment story, so they probably had to get acclimated to the new leadership for the game.
Essay Pro