‘Diablo 4’ And ‘Overwatch 2’ Release Dates Won’t Be In 2021, Activision Blizzard Says

Gamers waiting to hear more about “Diablo 4” and “Overwatch 2” will have to wait longer as according to Activision Blizzard, these won’t be released in 2021.

Blizzard is set to hold another conference this year in the form of the virtual BlizzConline 2021, Polygon reported. Those who were expecting to see the major sequels to the popular role-playing game “Diablo” and competitive shooter “Overwatch” during the event, however, shouldn’t get their hopes up because the game company hinted that these won’t arrive this year.

During an earnings call, Activision Blizzard explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the company’s “ability to consistently deliver popular, high-quality titles in a timely manner.” While the company continues to work on the titles, development “has been made more difficult as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

That said, the company hasn’t canceled the upcoming titles. In fact, Activision Blizzard indicated that “we are making significant progress against our development pipeline for other key intellectual properties.”

The company expects that these IPs, believed to include new titles “Diablo 4” and “Overwatch 2,” will “fuel further growth in 2022 and beyond.”

Although Activision Blizzard didn’t explicitly mention the titles “Diablo 4” and “Overwatch 2” anywhere in the press release, it gave some clues as to why fans can believe these are the titles that will be released this year.

It said that some titles saw noticeable growth in 2020 due to improvements in content, “in-game operations,” their presence in mobile platforms and through “new engagement models.” The company also expects these titles – “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft” and “Candy Crush” – to “drive strong results” in 2021.

While those three titles are key IPs for the company, they are not the only ones in the game developer/publisher’s repertoire. Other franchises and titles, such as “Diablo,” “Overwatch” and “Crash Bandicoot,” are also on the list.

Executives said in the earnings call that the company is currently working on some remasters, including titles along the lines of “Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” and “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2,” Polygon noted. This suggests that the "other key intellectual properties" above haven't been named in the call. These could be "Diablo 4" and "Overwatch 2."

Blizzard revealed in 2019 that “Diablo 4” is coming. This sequel will combine some of the best features from its predecessors. It also revealed that “Overwatch 2” will be released for various platforms in the future.

So far, Activision Blizzard hasn’t announced a potential release window for the two major sequels.