Activision Blizzard Delays Diablo IV And Overwatch 2 Once Again
| Tags: Activision, Diablo, Overwatch
| Author Joseph Shay
Activision Blizzard delays two titles set for 2022.
As if the game were never meant to be finished at all, Overwatch 2 has been delayed once again. Diablo IV is also being delayed alongside the long-awaited sequel. It was announced a week ago that Blizzcon 2022 would be canceled to allow more focus to be put into the development of upcoming titles. It seems that not even that cancellation allowed enough time to keep the games on schedule for release. Both Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV lost executive members of the team this last year. This, along with Blizzard having its own internal conflicts, spelled doom for 2022 plans all along the past few months.
For Diablo IV, this is an unexpected and surprising announcement. For Overwatch 2 however, most fans were already certain of the fact that the game wouldn’t be releasing in the middle of 2022 as previously announced. In their update, Activision Blizzard said, “While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged.” The way this is worded makes it sound as if both games are no longer in the 2022 plans at all.
Overwatch League still being played in Overwatch 2?
Originally the 2022 season of the Overwatch League was planned to be played in an early build of Overwatch 2. New plans have to be made now though. They could either delay the season quite a bit further than the Spring. Or they could play the season in the original Overwatch title. Many contracts and trades are currently pending league approval right now. So Activision Blizzard will need to get their accounts and quarterly/yearly reports together soon if they want to stabilize the league. There has been no announcement to pause financial or contractual movement between teams and organizations. As such, it may be assumed that Activision Blizzard isn’t concerned about having problems with their esports.