Activision Blizzard trial
Publisher Activision Blizzard, which is behind the game this article refers to, is currently involved in an ongoing lawsuit involving accusations related to a work culture that is said to have involved sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination. Read ours review article on the Activision Blizzard case for more information (written by our British colleagues.)
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The controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard continues to have ripple effects, and is now affecting the publisher’s schedules. The latest announcement reveals the postponement of two of the company’s biggest game titles – «Overwatch 2» and «Diablo 4».
Under Activision Blizzards financial report for the third quarter The following statement was made: “Although we still plan to deliver a significant amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning a later release date for ‘Overwatch 2’ and ‘Diablo IV’ than we originally envisioned.”
In other words, it seems that both games have been postponed compared to what was originally set up in internal roadmaps, but the language used in the first half of the statement is worth taking a closer look at.
The implication, given that the company says that there is “a significant amount of content” planned for release next year (ie 2022), and that the two games are not included in this content, is that in practice we have to wait over a year for the long-awaited titles . It is not said explicitly, but it may be that 2023 or later is the decision for both “Overwatch 2” and “Diablo 4”.
This theory is supported by other statements from the same financial report, including these: «[…] some of the Blizzard content planned for next year will benefit from more time under development to reach its full potential », and«[…] these decisions will push the financial promise we had expected next year ahead. “
Postponements and dismissals
As for “Diablo 4”, the reason for the delay is probably related to that the game’s chief designer and project manager left the company in August. Something similar also happened with “Overwatch 2”, since the project manager Jeff Kaplan packed the snippet box in April.
Although the publisher obviously wants to angle the postponements in a way that makes it beneficial for the developers to have more time to refine the games, there is no doubt that the allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination have led to a thinner workforce and new employees.
The company announced also that Jen Oneal, co-manager of Blizzard, is leaving the position, three months after she filled the position. She has negotiated a $ 1 million contribution (from Activision) to Women in Games – a non-profit organization of which she is a board member.
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