The two biggest games from Blizzard are delayed, with both Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 now set to arrive a lot later: all against a backdrop of turbulence at the company.
Diablo 4
The headline news out of the Blizzard side of Activision Blizzard this week has been the announcement it’s delayed arguably its two most anticipated games on its calendar: Diablo IV and Overwatch 2. The games had been pencilled in for a 2022 release, but there’s little chance of that now. Both look more likely for the Christmas 2023 wishlist, although no formal release dates have been announced.
Blizzard hasn’t released a brand new game on non-mobile platforms for over five years, and these are the next two titles on its slate.
Not that anyone was particularly surprised by their delay, given the turbulence at Blizzard over the past months. Back in the summer, a lawsuit was brought by California’s department of fair employment, itself the culmination of months of investigation into the working practices of the company.
High profile allegations of gender discrimination and sexual harassment have led to this point, and even as the lawsuit continues, the company has reportedly fired at least 20 staff so far as part of its own investigations. More than 20 have also faced some form of disciplinary action. You can read more about that here.
Overwatch 2
Also this week, Jen Oneal – who replaced J Allen Brack as co-leader of the company (Brack is named in the suit) – is leaving her position after just two months in the job. Some are taking that as a hint that things are going to get worse before they get better for the company.
Oneal tried to put out the flames, with a statement that read “I am doing this not because I am without hope for Blizzard, quite the opposite–I’m inspired by the passion of everyone here, working towards meaningful, lasting change with their whole hearts. This energy has inspired me to step out and explore how I can do more to have games and diversity intersect, and hopefully make a broader industry impact that will benefit Blizzard (and other studios) as well. While I am not totally sure what form that will take, I am excited to embark on a new journey to find out”.
It’d be fair to say not everyone was buying that. You can read her statement here.
Furthermore, against the backdrop of the controversies surrounding the company, Blizzard’s number of active users has steadied, following years of decline. The number has fallen to 26 million a month, down from 33 million pre-pandemic (primarily playing the company’s cash cow, World Of Warcraft). Notably, this comes against a broader games industry trend of growth. Whilst Blizzard will be relieved that that the fall appears to have bottomed out, there’s a lot of players to lure back.
For the time being though, it looks as though turbulence and no shortage of it remains the future of Blizzard, as it struggles to reset itself following significant turnover of personnel. Meanwhile, more and more voices of women who struggled in the alleged hostile environment at the company are now being heard…
