Unfortunately, while the Dota 2 launch might be moving closer, the Diablo 3 one is getting pushed back. While this may seem like a grand display of cosmic balance, even Blizzard had to poke fun at themselves in their press release titled “Hell Freezes Over – Diablo® III to Ship in Early 2012” by stating that, “Despite a sterling record of always hitting its release targets, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the expected launch window for Diablo® III, the next title in the company’s critically acclaimed series of action role-playing games, will be moving into early 2012.”
This isn’t necessarily entirely a bad thing. Reinforced by statements from Blizzard’s CEO and cofounder, Mike Morhaime, the company has a long standing reputation of releasing games only when they believe that they’re actually done and polished. “With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn’t put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready,” said Morhaime. A side effect of this is that their release dates tend to often slide back. Given the success Blizzard has consistently had over the years though, there’s no doubt that it is working for them.
According to Blizzard, the beta test is going well and from the sound of things, the test will be extended along with the release date of the game. That, at least, might actually be good news for those of you lucky enough to have already scored an invite. They’ve also added a reminder that anyone with an active Battle.net account and any Blizzard game attached to it, can visit their account management to opt in for a chance to join the test.
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