Diablo III release date - Revision history

Flux: /* Diablo 3 Expansions */

2013-08-15T23:48:29Z

‎Diablo 3 Expansions

Flux at 20:44, 10 February 2013

2013-02-10T20:44:21Z

Show changes

Flux at 20:09, 10 February 2013

2013-02-10T20:09:29Z

Flux: /* Diablo = Late June */

2012-03-06T13:50:54Z

‎Diablo = Late June

Flux at 15:50, 2 March 2012

2012-03-02T15:50:56Z

Flux at 15:44, 2 March 2012

2012-03-02T15:44:08Z

Flux at 15:40, 2 March 2012

2012-03-02T15:40:29Z

Elly at 02:32, 10 February 2012

2012-02-10T02:32:55Z

Elly: /* Diablo 3: Release Date Through The Years */

2012-02-09T22:51:47Z

‎Diablo 3: Release Date Through The Years

Elly: /* Diablo 3: Release Date Through The Years */

2012-02-09T22:51:00Z

‎Diablo 3: Release Date Through The Years

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 ===Diablo 3 Expansions===
-The developers had often referred to Diablo 3 "expansions" and had said that they thought Diablo 2 could easily have been expanded on further, so it was no surprise to see two expansions listed. The release date windows for those, 18 and 36 months after the initial game, seemed unlikely to be met, and as of February 2013, 9 months after Diablo 3's release, no official announcement of [[D3X]] has been made. Most fans expect it to be announced at Blizzcon 2013, which would be roughly 19 months after Diablo 3's release, with a release date of mid-2014 at the soonest, which would be 24-26+ months after D3's release.
+The first Diablo 3 expansion, [[Reaper of Souls]], was teased by Blizzard with a splash screen on August 13, 2013, with official details and confirmation set for August 21st, 2013 at the Gamescom convention.
-For the sake of comparison, Starcraft 2's two expansions were also slated for 18 and 36 months after release and that timeframe proved wildly optimistic. Starcraft 2 was released on July 27, 2010, and the first expansion pack is set for release on March 12, 2013. That's 31.5 months; a similar length of time would bring forth Diablo 3's first expansion in January 2015.
+Prior to the reveal, fans and Blizzard always treated the expansion as a ''fait accompli'', with only the content and date remaining to be determined. This impression was strengthened by the leaked product schedule which showed two expansions planned for release, 18 and 36 months after the initial game.
 ==Estimated Progress==

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-There is no Diablo 3 release date, and Blizzard has never given one. When asked about a release date, Blizzard employees give the same reply for all their games.
+Diablo III's final release date of May 15, 2012 was announced two months beforehand,<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-info-on-the-beta-end-date-release-date-and-d3s-full-game-demo Release dates are revealed about two months in advance] -  Blue Forum Post, 1/8/12</ref> on March 15, 2012.. This date came after years of development and numerous delays, which pushed the game from Q4 2011 back to Q1 2012, and finally Q2 2012 when the release came at last.
-"When it's done."
+Though the game took longer than expected, there was never any official date until the official May 15, 2012 date, which was achieved. All previous dates were estimates by retailers<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/bashiok-comments-on-store-release-dates-again Blizzard does not tell retailers release dates in advance] -  Blue Forum Post, 1/9/12</ref> or media and were unofficial, though the developers did offer several "release windows" such as "the second half of 2011" that they were aiming for all during the previous year.
-The current official line concerning a release date is '''Q2 2012''' and that's as specific as it gets. Blizzard generally announces their release dates about two months in advance,<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-info-on-the-beta-end-date-release-date-and-d3s-full-game-demo Release dates are revealed about two months in advance] -  Blue Forum Post, 1/8/12</ref> so fans are hoping/expecting to learn Diablo III's sometime in March or April, if the Q2 deadline is to be achieved.
+As with all hotly-awaited Blizzard games, there were years of news and rumors about when Diablo 3 would finally see the light of day.
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/categories/category/release-date/ News items related to Diablo 3's] release date.
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/586 Screenshot gallery of] (incorrect) estimated release dates.

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 Diablo I was released in November 1996, but all of the games in the series since then have shown an affinity for late June:
-* Diablo 1 release date: 29th of June 2000
+* [[Diablo 2]] release date: 29th of June 2000
-* Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction release date: 29th of June 2001
+* [[Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction]] release date: 29th of June 2001
 * Diablo 3 Announced at the WWI in Paris : 28th of June 2008
 With this history in mind, many fans were hoping for a June 2011 release. (A date that became impossible when the calendar moved into 2011 without any sign of the beta test.)
 ===Guess the Release Date===

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 "When it's done."
-The current official line concerning a release date is '''Q2 2012''' and that's as specific as it gets. Blizzard generally announces their release dates about two months in advance,[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-info-on-the-beta-end-date-release-date-and-d3s-full-game-demo] so fans are hoping/expecting to learn Diablo III's sometime in March or April, if the Q2 deadline is to be achieved.
+The current official line concerning a release date is '''Q2 2012''' and that's as specific as it gets. Blizzard generally announces their release dates about two months in advance,<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-info-on-the-beta-end-date-release-date-and-d3s-full-game-demo Release dates are revealed about two months in advance] -  Blue Forum Post, 1/8/12</ref> so fans are hoping/expecting to learn Diablo III's sometime in March or April, if the Q2 deadline is to be achieved.
-Diablo 3 release dates are often given/guessed at by media sources and especially by software merchants. Blizzard disavows these[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/bashiok-comments-on-store-release-dates-again] and they are created by merchants purely to to spur interest/pre-sales.
+Diablo 3 release dates are often given/guessed at by media sources and especially by software merchants. Blizzard disavows these<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/bashiok-comments-on-store-release-dates-again Blizzard does not tell retailers release dates in advance] -  Blue Forum Post, 1/9/12</ref> and they are created by merchants purely to to spur interest/pre-sales.
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/categories/category/release-date/ News items related to Diablo 3's] release date.
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/586 Screenshot gallery of] (incorrect) estimated release dates.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 The current official line concerning a release date is '''Q2 2012''' and that's as specific as it gets. Blizzard generally announces their release dates about two months in advance,[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-info-on-the-beta-end-date-release-date-and-d3s-full-game-demo] so fans are hoping/expecting to learn Diablo III's sometime in March or April, if the Q2 deadline is to be achieved.
-Diablo 3 release dates are often given/guessed at by media sources and especially by software merchants. These dates have no authority and exist solely to spur interest/pre-sales.
+Diablo 3 release dates are often given/guessed at by media sources and especially by software merchants. Blizzard disavows these[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/bashiok-comments-on-store-release-dates-again] and they are created by merchants purely to to spur interest/pre-sales.
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/categories/category/release-date/ News items related to Diablo 3's] release date.
 * [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/586 Screenshot gallery of] (incorrect) estimated release dates.

@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
 <blue>While this news might not be a complete surprise, I know that many of you were hopeful that Diablo III would ship this year. We were too. However, this week we pulled together people from all of the teams involved with the game to decide whether we felt it would be ready before the end of December, and we grudgingly came to the conclusion that it would not. Ultimately, we feel that to deliver an awesome Diablo sequel that lives up to our expectations and yours as well, we should take a little more time and add further polish to a few different elements of the game.</blue>
-* '''February 10 2012''' - During the Activision Blizzard financial conference call, Mike Morhaime announced that the game would now release in Q2 2012 which takes it out of the previously stated "early 2012" release date window. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-release-date-slips Diablo3 Release Date Slips]  Mike Morhaime, Blizzard, 9/2/11</ref>
+* '''February 10 2012''' - During the Activision Blizzard financial conference call, Mike Morhaime announced that the game would now release in Q2 2012 which takes it out of the previously stated "early 2012" release date window. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-release-date-slips Diablo3 Release Date Slips]  Mike Morhaime, Blizzard, 9/2/12</ref>
 <blue>We have implemented changes which will greatly improve the game experience and final release will live up to the highest expectations. We expect launch to be a big opportunity for Blizzard. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.</blue>

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:51, 9 February 2012
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	<blue>While this news might not be a complete surprise, I know that many of you were hopeful that Diablo III would ship this year. We were too. However, this week we pulled together people from all of the teams involved with the game to decide whether we felt it would be ready before the end of December, and we grudgingly came to the conclusion that it would not. Ultimately, we feel that to deliver an awesome Diablo sequel that lives up to our expectations and yours as well, we should take a little more time and add further polish to a few different elements of the game.</blue>		<blue>While this news might not be a complete surprise, I know that many of you were hopeful that Diablo III would ship this year. We were too. However, this week we pulled together people from all of the teams involved with the game to decide whether we felt it would be ready before the end of December, and we grudgingly came to the conclusion that it would not. Ultimately, we feel that to deliver an awesome Diablo sequel that lives up to our expectations and yours as well, we should take a little more time and add further polish to a few different elements of the game.</blue>
		+
		+	* '''February 10 2012''' - During the Activision Blizzard financial conference call, Mike Morhaime announced that the game would now release in Q2 2012 which takes it out of the previously stated "early 2012" release date window. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-release-date-slips Diablo3 Release Date Slips] Mike Morhaime, Blizzard, 9/2/11</ref>
		+
		+	<blue>We have implemented changes which will greatly improve the game experience and final release will live up to the highest expectations. We expect launch to be a big opportunity for Blizzard. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.</blue>

	==Diablo 3 Beta Test==		==Diablo 3 Beta Test==