Blizzard Fans Just Got Bad News About Overwatch 2 And Diablo 4
Blizzcon 2021 will take place online Feb. 19 and 20, giving fans a front row seat to any new announcements Blizzard plans to make at its biggest yearly gathering. The event, which will be entirely virtual this year, often features Blizzard's biggest announcements, including information about release dates and new projects. Fans have wondered if Blizzard will discuss potential release dates for two of their biggest games this year, but unfortunately that information might end up delayed.
Blizzard announced in its fourth quarter update that although it has made "significant progress against [its] development pipeline," the company doesn't have a definite release date for Overwatch 2 or Diablo 4 just yet. Fans suspected that Blizzard might share big announcements regarding Overwatch and Diablo at Blizzcon 2021, but that won't be happening. Polygon reported that, according to an earnings call with Blizzard, neither game will appear at the convention this year.
The signs that Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 might not be ready for release have been there all along, but hopeful fans never want to believe they'll have to wait longer for their favorite new games. As recently as January 2021, Blizzard still listed over 40 open positions on the Overwatch team. While some of those positions might not be specifically for Overwatch 2, many of them likely are. If Blizzard hasn't fully hired its team to develop Overwatch 2, chances are good that fans will be waiting a while until it's released.
Just because Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 won't arrive in 2021 doesn't mean that gamers won't get any good news at Blizzcon. Blizzard has still promised future updates on the two franchises and has touted plenty of new features, including Diablo 4's attention to player feedback on Diablo 3 and Overwatch 2's move away from strict PvP gameplay. Even if there are no release date announcements at Blizzcon, there may still be plenty for Blizzard to talk about.
Blizzard has continued support for Overwatch since it released in 2016, and just recently released a significant patch for the game. The patch has some fans irritated, though, as it nerfed several characters. The patch attempted to provide balance to the game and make matches more dependent on skill, rather than character selection.
As for Diablo, fans have circulated rumors about a remastered edition of Diablo 2 for months. If Blizzard has a team working on a separate Diablo project, that could potentially delay the development of Diablo 4 further.