The game studio Blizzard is currently in serious turbulence, but during the earnings call, they paint a rosy picture of the present and future of the studio: WoW is doing better than in recent years due to the success of WoW Classic. The development of Diablo 4 is going brilliantly, and the game is expected to function for several years after the release. The development of Overwatch 2 is also going great. There is a hint: Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 could have their launch in the next 18 months, by February 2023.
Where is the information from? Activision Blizzard had an earnings call and provided information about the current status of their four core franchises: World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, and Overwatch.
The current situation around the studio Blizzard is critical. On the day of the earnings call, the president of Blizzard, J. Allen Brack, resigned.
Blizzard dreams of Diablo 4
Here’s the situation with Diablo: Blizzard highlights Diablo 4 in particular: They state that they are making significant progress and are allocating “considerable resources” to create exciting game content that keeps players engaged for several years. Apparently, Diablo 4 is planned as a “games-as-a-service” title.
They are already looking forward to the release of Diablo 2 Resurrected on September 23 for PC and consoles. It is “highly anticipated.”
The mobile game Diablo Immortal has been postponed, but is doing well and receiving “excellent feedback,” says Blizzard.
Blizzard praises WoW Classic
Here’s the situation with WoW: In World of Warcraft, Blizzard is enthusiastic, stating that the numbers in the second quarter of 2021 have grown by a “double-digit percentage” compared to the previous year. For this success, they attribute it to the release of the “Burning Crusade” expansion for World of Warcraft Classic.
It is mentioned that WoW is also expected to have significantly stronger player engagement in 2021 than in normal years without a new expansion.
How is Overwatch doing? The development of Overwatch 2 is reportedly also progressing well. They have completed a “significant milestone.”
Here’s the situation with Hearthstone: Blizzard has only positive things to say about Hearthstone. Although no exact numbers are mentioned here, they speak of growth and refer to the new expansion “United in Stormwind.”
Blizzard’s revenue figures decline – Overwatch League an issue
This does not fit the rosy picture: Although everything appears to be going well at Blizzard, they lost 6 million players compared to Q2 2020: The number of monthly active users fell from 32 million (Q2/2020) to 26 million users (Q2/2021).
Moreover, the actual revenue figures have also declined. Although revenue for WoW has grown by a double-digit percentage, revenue figures for Hearthstone and the Overwatch League have decreased.
Additionally, Blizzard has invested money in developing a “rich product pipeline” and marketing for Burning Crusade Classic.
When are Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 coming? Hint on release date
This is the hint about the release date for Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4: During the presentation, Blizzard emphasized: They have a “significant 18-month” period of releases ahead of them.
This could mean that the release of Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 could take place by February 2023 at the latest. By then, the 18 months would be up. Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 are surely the most important releases for Blizzard in the coming years.
Traditionally, release windows for such blockbuster titles are from September to November of a year or from March to April. From December to February and during the warm months of May to August, large titles are rarely released:
Possible release windows for Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 could therefore be:
- Overwatch 2 in March/April 2022
- Diablo 4 between September and November 2022.
It is quite possible that one of the games or even both could be delayed until 2023, especially with everything that is currently happening at Blizzard.
Additionally, it seems that further mobile games for Warcraft are in development:
2 new Warcraft games are already being tested internally at Blizzard
