Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV Delayed Indefinitely

The releases of Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV have been delayed, Activision Blizzard announced Tuesday.

As revealed in a slide presentation for Activision Blizzard's third quarter calendar 2021 results conference call, the company revealed that after working with "new leadership in Blizzard and within the franchises themselves," it became apparent that "some of the Blizzard content planned for next year will benefit from more development time to reach its full potential."

While Activision Blizzard is reportedly are still planning to deliver a "substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year," the launches for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV will particularly be delayed later "than originally envisaged."

Back in February 2021, it was similarly announced in an earnings call that neither Overwatch 2 or Diablo IV were expected to release this year. As such, it was speculated that the titles could possibly see a release in 2022.

Now, it doesn't appear likely.

"These are two of the most eagerly anticipated titles in the industry, and our teams have made great strides towards completion in recent quarters," Activision Blizzard said. "But we believe giving the teams some extra time to complete production and continue growing their creative resources to support the titles after launch will ensure that these releases delight and engage their communities for many years into the future.

"These decisions will push out the financial uplift that we had expected to see next year. But we are confident that this is the right course of action for our people, our players, and the long-term success of our franchises."

It is especially interesting to see just when Overwatch 2 will launch considering that the plan seems to be for the Overwatch League to play on an "early build" of the upcoming game when its next season starts in April.

In addition to the Blizzard pipeline update, Activision Blizzard also announced in its third quarter 2021 financial presentation that Jen Oneal will leave her role as co-leader of Blizzard at the end of the year. Her co-leader, Mike Ybarra, will now become the sole head of the studio.