Overwatch And Diablo Are Getting Unexpected New Adaptations

If you've ever felt like Blizzard's Overwatch and Diablo games needed extended cut scenes, not to worry. The two franchises are about to get the longest cutscenes possible: fully-fledged animated series. Yes, you read that right. If Castlevania can do it, why not Diablo?

This news comes from Nick van Dyk, the president of Activision Blizzard's film and television division. He posted on LinkedIn that these two projects are well underway, though nothing official has come from the Blizzard home office. Apparently, the plan is to give Diablo a Castlevania-esque "rendered in anime style" adaptation that, like the Castlevania series, will be distributed through Netflix. 

What's happening with Overwatch remains less clear. Van Dyk said in his post that he "developed and sold an animated series based on Blizzard's Overwatch franchise." Sold it to who? Will it also be "rendered in anime style?"

Overwatch has a unique, 3D animated style players love. Since the release of the first cinematic, fans have begged for an Overwatch movie. But that high quality animation comes at a cost. There's a good reason why the cinematics are few and far between. A whole series rendered with the same care and quality would come with a significant price tag. Many think Overwatch is worth it, but does Blizzard?

It's also unclear what stories these series will tell. The Diablo franchise has been running for 23 years and has built up tons of lore, stories, and characters that this anime-style show could center around. Overwatch has only two established eras the story could focus on: the golden days of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis or the recall of the disbanded team. It's a safe bet that the series will follow the latter timeline, considering this seems to be the main plot of the upcoming Overwatch 2. 

It's still up in the air when Overwatch 2 will release or when these animated series will come to a television near you. Stay tuned for updates.