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Blizzard working on next Diablo project

ArchAngel

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Mar 16, 2015
Messages
19,886
Apparently Brevik is working with GGG on their Chinese PoE launch. Which is somehow even more funny.
Which means Blizzard stays retarded.
 

Wirdschowerdn

Ph.D. in World Saving
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Clogging the Multiverse with a Crowbar
Small re-confirmation that Blizzard is still working on a new Diablo project:

https://careers.blizzard.com/en-us/openings/oNiH7fwD

Dungeon Artist, Diablo
Unannounced ProjectIrvine
We Need You

The minions of Hell are growing stronger...

We're working on a new, unannounced Diablo project. Are you a skilled Dungeon Artist? Come work with us, and together we will build something exceptional.

Our team of talented developers is growing. Our backgrounds are diverse, but we all share a real passion for what we do. We believe that if you’re looking for a tight-knit crew that celebrates self-expression and embraces collaboration, we might be a phenomenal fit for you.

Stuff We Will Trust You With

Modeling and texturing compelling assets. Essential skills include a solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets. You can concept, model, and texture your work! You are also up on the latest tools and technology. The ideal candidate works well in an environment of peers who are passionate about working on the dark gothic world of Diablo, making great games, killing millions of monsters and getting loot!

[...]

There's many other art/design related Diablo job openings available.

Looks like they're ramping for full production. Which means 2020 2030 for release?
 

Immortal

Arcane
In My Safe Space
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Messages
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Small re-confirmation that Blizzard is still working on a new Diablo project:

https://careers.blizzard.com/en-us/openings/oNiH7fwD

Dungeon Artist, Diablo
Unannounced ProjectIrvine
We Need You

The minions of Hell are growing stronger...

We're working on a new, unannounced Diablo project. Are you a skilled Dungeon Artist? Come work with us, and together we will build something exceptional.

Our team of talented developers is growing. Our backgrounds are diverse, but we all share a real passion for what we do. We believe that if you’re looking for a tight-knit crew that celebrates self-expression and embraces collaboration, we might be a phenomenal fit for you.

Stuff We Will Trust You With

Modeling and texturing compelling assets. Essential skills include a solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets. You can concept, model, and texture your work! You are also up on the latest tools and technology. The ideal candidate works well in an environment of peers who are passionate about working on the dark gothic world of Diablo, making great games, killing millions of monsters and getting loot!

[...]

There's many other art/design related Diablo job openings available.

Looks like they're ramping for full production. Which means 2020 2030 for release?

Could either be an expansion or mobile release. Don't get too disappointed excited.
Very odd they would be so open about this.. Usually they like to tease and dick around about releases until Blizzcon.
 

Immortal

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The 2nd Diablo 3 expansion already got canceled in favor for this.

It's been in development at least since 2015 and Blizzard has been acknowledging this for a long time.

That's actually hilarious.. are they basically admitting that the game is dead and they fucked up?

*Salutes Jay Wilson*
 

Aildrik

Savant
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
159
Diablo 3 on release has to be one of the biggest black eyes for Blizzard to date. Jay Wilson should be ashamed to this day. It was all tied to the stupid fucking RMAH. Wish I had waited until the 'console' patch when it actually became more of the game it should have been all along.

Decent analysis here:
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/d3/topic/20758496200

Anyhow, good luck Blizzard. Maybe they can turn it around with D4.
 
Joined
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Messages
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"Black eyes"? :philosoraptor:

Diablo 3 sold over 30 million units. That's about 2 billion USD in revenue from a single game.

The bottom line is all that matters to Activision. Do you really think they care about the game being shit? There's nothing to "turn around". If anything, the next game will be even more dumbed down and I'm sure they'll introduce something even more egregious than the RMAH. Enjoy your decline.
 
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Cael

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
20,287
Diablo 3 sold 30 million units. That's close to 2 billion USD in revenue from a single game.

The bottom line is all that matters to Activision. Do you really think they care about the game being shit? There's nothing to "turn around". If anything, the next game will be even more dumbed down.
The question is ALWAYS "how many of those were hype due to D2?" D3 is not going to do the next Diablo installment any favours and that would reflect in the numbers. That is the problem. Look at Dragon Age. DAO gave a lot of hype to DA2, but DA2 basically wrecked DAI and if they are crazy to come up with DA4, well, it is going to crash and burn a la Andromeda.
 

Wunderbar

Arcane
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
8,809
diablo3_release_date.jpeg
 
Joined
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Messages
5,869
I don't think the Kotick hivemind considers these things in terms of "well this game sucked but it sold 30 million copies, we better step it up for the sequel or people won't buy it!"

I'm pretty sure they've got a team of crack experts researching a new fleecing/lootbox model for the new Diablo. That's all that matters to these people - the bottom line.

Plus the Diablo/Blizzard brand recognition is an order of magnitude beyond whatever Bioware could ever muster. The name alone will carry the product. They'll run the franchise into the ground with a few more games, they're spaced out enough that people won't be too quick to remember how bad exactly the previous game was.

By the time series sales sag significantly, Kotick will be retired and counting his billions in his Scrooge Mcduck pool.
 

abija

Prophet
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
2,892
The question is ALWAYS "how many of those were hype due to D2?" D3 is not going to do the next Diablo installment any favours and that would reflect in the numbers. That is the problem. Look at Dragon Age. DAO gave a lot of hype to DA2, but DA2 basically wrecked DAI and if they are crazy to come up with DA4, well, it is going to crash and burn a la Andromeda.

Bitch pls...

Both D3 and OW were sold to many people who don't enjoy the genres just by advertising alone.
They got PoE to copy shit from and just announcing poe lite with their advertising skills would guarantee success (financial at least) of the game.
 

Immortal

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Safe Space - Don't Bulli
"Black eyes"? :philosoraptor:

Diablo 3 sold over 30 million units. That's about 2 billion USD in revenue from a single game.

The bottom line is all that matters to Activision. Do you really think they care about the game being shit? There's nothing to "turn around". If anything, the next game will be even more dumbed down and I'm sure they'll introduce something even more egregious than the RMAH. Enjoy your decline.

2 Billion USD? What do you think it costs Blizzard to operate for 3 years making a new Diablo 4 game? Obsidian blows a million in cash every month. Now calculate Blizzard's costs.

That's actually not that good for a Blizzard title. Their release windows aren't exactly "Same Football Game every year" like EA does.
They need to sell rockstar numbers because their dev cycles are so long.

Of course they have Overwatch and WoW generating insane income monthly.. but Diablo 3 tarnished their reputation, died off way prematurely in it's life cycle, robbing Blizzard from being able to milk it for expansions in years to come.

It seems that Necromancer DLC pack was a pilot test to see if anyone would give a fuck.. they didn't.

Now they are spending years making a new title instead of releasing expansion packs (Which they generally charge full retail price for - again, just look at WoW to see the Blizzard model optimally in effect)

I am very sure that Blizzard considers that game a failure.. especially when you look at Path of Exile.. in comparison.
 

Aildrik

Savant
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
159
You could certainly make an argument that the sales for D3 were not technically a failure, but when I say 'black eye' I mean as defined by the high standards Blizzard has always set for themselves. Games like Warcraft 1/2/3, the original Diablo - these were top notch games that cemented a large fanbase for Blizzard. WoW was a huge success at launch.

Diablo 3 by comparison was a steaming turd. I got a lot more fun out of Torchlight 2 which was cartoony in style and had a teeny tiny dev team by comparison. That is just atrocious and downright depressing for a company with practically endless pockets and supposedly top notch talent. I mean yeah, you can point to the obvious stuff like the RMAH but it was simpler things that they blew. The whole random layout generation that was a hallmark of the original Diablo was largely gone and hurt replay-ability. The story was a big snooze. Really simple stuff.
 
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Messages
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You could certainly make an argument that the sales for D3 were not technically a failure, but when I say 'black eye' I mean as defined by the high standards Blizzard has always set for themselves. Games like Warcraft 1/2/3, the original Diablo - these were top notch games that cemented a large fanbase for Blizzard. WoW was a huge success at launch.

Buddy, these "high standards" disappeared many, many years ago. Do you really think the company that makes and maintains Overwatch, Hearthstone and life-support WoW's corpse cares about anything but their shareholders' expectations of return on investment?

There's no Blizzard anymore, there's only Activision Blizzard. It's a faceless corporate behemoth that operates cash cows. Diablo 3 was a cash cow, it served its purpose, just like every other game it puts out now. The next one will also be a cash cow, but probably even worse in the sense that it will be even more of a 'game as service' than D3. To expect anything else is delusional.

I am very sure that Blizzard considers that game a failure.. especially when you look at Path of Exile.. in comparison.

How much money did Path of Exile make in the 5 years since its release? That's all that matters.
 
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Irata

Scholar
Joined
Mar 14, 2018
Messages
304
I'm expecting the new Diablo to be a third person/first person looter-shooter like Destiny or Borderlands. That would make it different enough that disappointed D3 fans might be willing to give it a chance and it wouldn't be directly competing with Path of Exile. A game like that would sell better on consoles than Diablo's traditional isometric view as well.
 

Xor

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Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2
I actually don't really agree 100% with this analysis; trying to do something much closer to Diablo 2 without just remaking the entire game would have probably fallen apart. Diablo 2 is a sort of magical combination of a bunch of questionable design decisions that just happen to work together in a certain way to appeal to a certain type of gameplay where you grind areas and bosses over and over again for a handful of good uniques (or just bot and get everything you need in a week or so). The worst parts of Diablo 3 (aside from the RMAH and everything based around that) are arguably the stuff they thoughtlessly cribbed from 2, like the 3 difficulties you had to play through even though the Diablo 3 story mode is much longer than Diablo 2, and then they added a fourth difficulty just to make things worse. When they removed the RMAH and turned the game into something that can actually be played solo it became an actually half-decent experience in a similar way Diablo 2, except this time it's seeing how far you can push in grifts after a few weeks of gearing up (or if you're like me, before boredom sets in).

I have absolutely no expectations for anything good from Diablo 4 and knowing Blizzard it won't be out until 2025 anyway so who cares?
 

Cael

Arcane
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Messages
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I actually don't really agree 100% with this analysis; trying to do something much closer to Diablo 2 without just remaking the entire game would have probably fallen apart. Diablo 2 is a sort of magical combination of a bunch of questionable design decisions that just happen to work together in a certain way to appeal to a certain type of gameplay where you grind areas and bosses over and over again for a handful of good uniques (or just bot and get everything you need in a week or so). The worst parts of Diablo 3 are arguably the stuff they thoughtlessly cribbed from 2, like the 3 difficulties you had to play through even though the Diablo 3 story mode is much longer than Diablo 2, and then they added a fourth difficulty just to make things worse. When they removed the RMAH and turned the game into something that can actually be played solo it became an actually half-decent experience in a similar way Diablo 2, except this time it's seeing how far you can push in grifts after a few weeks of gearing up (or if you're like me, before boredom sets in).

I have absolutely no expectations for anything good from Diablo 4 and knowing Blizzard it won't be out until 2025 anyway so who cares?
Diablo 2 was fun in multiplayer. Far less so in single player. It was the interaction with friends that made it good.

However, it was also a time when multiplayer generally meant LAN, not online. You are playing with friends you know IRL, people you WANT to hang out with in general and can go down to the pub for a few cold ones after. Nowadays, you are dealing with people that you have never met and who are generally dickheads because they know they can get away with it due to the anonymity of the Internet. Out of the dozen or more MMO or online games that I have played, I have yet to encounter one where you meet people you want to hang out with IRL. Invariably, you get shitheads who worships the Joker as their ideal person to be (even met a few who use the Joker as their profile/avatar pic). Boredom sets in real quick when you run into toxic assholes like that.

D2's popularity was a combination of the technology of the time as well as a generation of players who grew up interacting with real people, not online toons. You are not likely to have the same success today even with the same game.
 

ArchAngel

Arcane
Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Messages
19,886
I actually don't really agree 100% with this analysis; trying to do something much closer to Diablo 2 without just remaking the entire game would have probably fallen apart. Diablo 2 is a sort of magical combination of a bunch of questionable design decisions that just happen to work together in a certain way to appeal to a certain type of gameplay where you grind areas and bosses over and over again for a handful of good uniques (or just bot and get everything you need in a week or so). The worst parts of Diablo 3 are arguably the stuff they thoughtlessly cribbed from 2, like the 3 difficulties you had to play through even though the Diablo 3 story mode is much longer than Diablo 2, and then they added a fourth difficulty just to make things worse. When they removed the RMAH and turned the game into something that can actually be played solo it became an actually half-decent experience in a similar way Diablo 2, except this time it's seeing how far you can push in grifts after a few weeks of gearing up (or if you're like me, before boredom sets in).

I have absolutely no expectations for anything good from Diablo 4 and knowing Blizzard it won't be out until 2025 anyway so who cares?
Diablo 2 was fun in multiplayer. Far less so in single player. It was the interaction with friends that made it good.

However, it was also a time when multiplayer generally meant LAN, not online. You are playing with friends you know IRL, people you WANT to hang out with in general and can go down to the pub for a few cold ones after. Nowadays, you are dealing with people that you have never met and who are generally dickheads because they know they can get away with it due to the anonymity of the Internet. Out of the dozen or more MMO or online games that I have played, I have yet to encounter one where you meet people you want to hang out with IRL. Invariably, you get shitheads who worships the Joker as their ideal person to be (even met a few who use the Joker as their profile/avatar pic). Boredom sets in real quick when you run into toxic assholes like that.

D2's popularity was a combination of the technology of the time as well as a generation of players who grew up interacting with real people, not online toons. You are not likely to have the same success today even with the same game.
Seeing your charming personality here on 'Dex and if you are half like this in these MMO games, I doubt you didn't want to hang out with them, 99% more likely they didn't want anything to do with you.
 

ArchAngel

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Messages
19,886
As for D3, the expansion sold in week 1 only 1/3 of what D3 sold in its week 1.. people have already spoken there what they thought about quality of D3.
 

abija

Prophet
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
2,892
How the actual fuck can you argue copying more from D2 would have failed when it's exactly what GGG did with PoE?
Or the other mongo that talks about LAN. Newsflash even in thirdworldia people knew D2 was designed for bnet.
 
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ArchAngel

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
19,886
How the actual fuck can you argue copying more from D2 would have failed when it's exactly what GGG did with PoE?
Or the other mongo that talks about LAN. Newsflash even in thirdworldia people knew D2 was designed for bnet.
Copying more from D2 gives a more hardcore game, but Diablo 3 sales still far far beat PoE. Now after 6 years PoE had 150 000 concurrent players when new league started. D3 had 1 million concurrent players in week 1 on D3. Even by losing 2/3 of playerbase they still beat PoE. And PoE is a free game which means more players than if people needed to pay 40 to 60$ for it.
 

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