Activision Blizzard revealed during yesterday’s investor call that two of its biggest upcoming games, Diablo IV and Overwatch 2, have been delayed. These titles were originally planned for release next year, but the news suggests that they’ll now debut in 2023. Activision Blizzard did not provide a clear time frame but explained that they needed more development time for quality purposes.
From a slide shared by Activision Blizzard:
- 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.
- 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.
Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 were originally revealed in 2019. The former lost its director and lead designer Jesse McCree over the summer, while the latter lost its executive producer Chacko Sonny in September.
Source: Activision Blizzard