Activision Blizzard is once again delaying Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV. Following months of upheaval at its Blizzard Entertainment subsidiary stemming from a sexual harassment lawsuit the State of California filed in July, the publisher announced during its recent third-quarter 2021 earnings call that it's pushing those games back to give the teams working on them more time.
"While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year, we are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV than originally envisaged," the company said.
Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 delayed pic.twitter.com/4pr9c0OEdz
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) November 2, 2021
It did not share a revised release date for either title. "These decisions will push will push the financial uplift that we had expected to see next year," Activision said. "But we are confident that is the right course of action for our people, our players, and the long-term successes of our franchises."
Blizzard unveiled Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV at Blizzcon 2019. At the time, the studio made it clear that both games were in early development, but the expectation was that it would release them sometime in 2021. Activision dashed those hopes at the start of the year when it said neither title would come out in 2021.