(New York) Video game publisher Activision Blizzard on Tuesday announced delivery delays on two flagship games, Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, which is not expected to be released in 2022 as anticipated so far.
Released in 2016, Overwatch is one of Activision Blizzard’s flagship titles. Its success has been such that it has given rise to the creation of a dedicated championship, the Overwatch League, one of the most prominent examples of the development of esports.
As for Diablo, the first edition of which dates from 1997, it has been the subject of several versions. The last iteration, Diablo II: Resurrected, was released at the end of September (Diablo III had already been published in 2012), and enjoys great popularity on Twitch, the popular video platform for “gamers”.
These are two games from the Blizzard studio, with which Activision merged after the 2008 takeover of Vivendi Games from the Vivendi group.
Activision Blizzard had not given any specific date for the release of either game, but many were expecting them in 2022.
On Tuesday, the group said that it had “appeared that some of the content (whose launches were) planned for next year (would benefit) from more development time to reach their full potential,” said number two Daniel Alegre on the third quarter results conference call.
If he did not give a date, the leader thus hinted that the exit ofOverwatch 2 and Diablo IV would not intervene before 2023.
Daniel Alegre attributed this postponement to staff renewals, at the head of Blizzard, but also within the creative teams responsible for developing the games.
In early August, Blizzard chairman J. Allen Brack left the company, days after a scandal broke that exposed accusations of harassment and discrimination at the company.
On Tuesday, the group announced that Jen Oneal, who replaced J. Allen Brack in August with Mike Ybarra, will, in turn, be leaving Blizzard.
In mid-October, the video game publisher revealed that “more than 20 people” had left the company in light of reports and accusations, and that more than 20 other employees had been disciplined while remaining employed. by Activision.
Daniel Alegre acknowledged that this release delay would “postpone the financial effect we expect to see next year.” The announcement strongly displeased investors and the title Activision Blizzard lost 10% in electronic exchanges after the close of Wall Street.
The market disregarded the results of the group, which nevertheless did better than expected in the third quarter, both in terms of turnover ($ 2.07 billion) and profit (639 million).