I would recommend that Diablo fans keep their expectations in check, though, because it doesn't look like Blizzard are giving any higher a profile to their Diablo IP for this BlizzCon than they have for the last few. At least, if one judges by the floor map for the convention.
Let's zoom in a little bit, shall we?
Yes, once again, the Diablo area is the same size as the nearby washrooms. But, hey, at least it's up front, this time, and not shoehorned into a back corner behind the face painting booth!
We'll know more for sure once Blizzard release the actual schedule of events and panels, but with Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Starcraft II all having their own tournament stages/arenas, and Heroes of the Storm/World of Warcraft sharing a stage, it seems pretty obvious what the foci of this year's BlizzCon are going to be.
None of this is a surprise, of course. In fact, the only surprise for me is the way Hearthstone has been shuffled somewhat off to the side - maybe the Tavern set up needed some specific sort of space that the main floor couldn't accommodate? It's still a little odd to see one of Blizzard's biggest money-makers sharing a neighbourhood with the face painting booth, Darkmoon Faire, and the voice actors. Maybe revenue is down, thanks to the game's terrible new player experience.
Hope, as always, spring eternal, but this is one case where Diablo fans should fight that hopeful impulse. Anyone hoping for a big Diabloverse announcement at this year's BlizzCon should stop hoping.
Well, colour me surprised! Rather than spending the weeks between now and BlizzCon toying with Diablo fans' emotions and teasing an announcement that will later fail to materialize, Blizzard have actually done the honest and responsible thing, and just straight up admitted that they have nothing new to show this year.
As reported on MMORPG.com:
The Diablo III team has posted an unusual message on the game's official forums to let fans and players know that no new announcements with regard to Diablo III will be made at Blizzcon 2017. The game will be on the showfloor and there will be a couple of panels for attendees, but that is the sum total of its presence at the annual show. Before becoming filled with despair, however, the team also let everyone know that "we're hard at work on the future of Diablo".Here's that official forum post:
This is the opposite of a hype cycle, and I approve entirely. I'm sure that hardcore Diablo III fans are disappointed, but it's far better for Blizzard to just rip the bandaid off now, than to watch as a steady drip feed of baseless speculations drives up fans' expectations, only to leave them disappointed for a fourth straight year.
The game's fans seem to appreciate the honesty, too; comments on this forum thread mostly appear to be neutral to positive, at least so far, with lots of commenters upvoting each other, and very little of Battle.Net's infamous toxicity in sight.
And so...
Well done, Blizzard. You've earned it.
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