Tag: Diablo 4

Blizzard announces Diablo 4 release date in new trailer

Diablo 4 made an appearance at The Game Awards with a new cinematic trailer confirming its 2023 release date

Blizzard showcased a new Diablo 4 trailer at The Game Awards 2022, highlighting a bit of what to expect from the hellish action-RPG and confirming its release date. The Diablo 4 release date is currently set for June 6, 2023, though as the game has yet to go gold, it’s possible it may get delayed.

The Washington Post recently published an inside look at Diablo 4’s development, which suggested the game is facing difficulties, not least because of direction issues and backlash over questionable narrative direction, and may have to cut some features to meet the June release date.

The trailer gave us a brief look at Lillith and the divine armies facing off in a barren world, riven with fissures spewing lava and generally looking like a not-very-nice place to be.

We didn’t get to see much else other than the start of this very dramatic battle. Blizzard sent preview copies of Diablo 4 earlier in December, though as we didn’t receive a copy, we can’t really say how well the trailer depicts what to expect.

Meanwhile, the Microsoft-Activision deal is facing greater scrutiny from regulators, as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced it will file a lawsuit to block the deal, citing concerns over anti-competitive behavior.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Blizzard appeals the NLRB’s Blizzard Albany union decision – again

Following the NLRB’s decision to proceed with the Blizzard Albany QA union vote, Blizzard is asking the Board to hear its side of the story

The National Labor Relations Board recently moved to proceed with Blizzard Albany’s union vote, denying Blizzard’s attempt to broaden the voting pool to include more workers, and now, Blizzard is appealing the decision once again, before the ballots have even been counted. The Diablo and Call of Duty maker filed a motion to impound the votes and halt their tabulation until sometime after the original Nov. 18, 2022, count date, GamesIndustry.biz reports, so the NLRB can hear Blizzard’s arguments one more time.

Polygon senior reporter Nicole Carpenter obtained some of the documents Activision Blizzard submitted to the NLRB, where the publisher argues that the NLRB’s current procedures are ill-suited to video game development.

“The process of creating a video game is… the opposite of the traditional processes in which the Board’s precedent have been developed,” Blizzard said in its appeal. “A video game studio does not produce a large volume of products by following a series of steps. Instead, a single video game is developed over an extended period of time… in which all of the employees at a studio work collaboratively.”

Blizzard also said that work on a live-service game such as Diablo is substantially different enough from work on multiplayer games like Call of Duty that Raven Studio, whose WA team successfully unionized earlier in 2022, should not serve as a precedent.

Blizzard used a similar argument about the difference of work in its original appeal, where the company tried persuading the NLRB that Blizzard Albany’s work on Diablo 4 necessitated including more than the QA team in a union vote. The Board discarded those arguments, but has yet to respond to the new appeal.

Sara Steffens, secretary-treasurer of the Communication Workers of America issued a statement to GamesIndustry.biz that Blizzard’s new appeal is another attempt to decrease the likelihood of the QA team forming a union.

“Instead of staying neutral, Activision’s management continues to present the same failing arguments in a desperate attempt to interfere with workers’ legal right to make their own decisions about forming a union and negotiating a collective bargaining agreement,” Steffens said. “It’s clear the company’s executives feel threatened by workers organizing in New York, Wisconsin, and across the country.”

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

 

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The NLRB rules in favor of Blizzard Albany union vote

The Blizzard Albany union vote has a clear path forward after the NLRB dismissed Activision Blizzard’s petition against the QA team’s efforts

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled in favor of Blizzard Albany’s quality assurance team in, The Washington Post reported, giving the QA unit a clear path to proceed with its vote to unionize. The Albany campus, which was formerly Vicarious Visions before Activision Blizzard folded that entity into the wider company, originally announced its intent to unionize in July 2022 following Call of Duty maker Raven Studio’s successful attempt earlier in the year. 

“I’m very happy and excited that we can move forward with voting for our union,” Amanda Laven, associate test analyst at Blizzard Albany, told the Post.  “I hope that Activision Blizzard will set an example for companies everywhere by not engaging in further union-busting and by working with us in good faith.”

During the August hearings, one of Blizzard’s arguments involved the concern that testers working on different games shouldn’t be allowed to form a single organization. The company presented Diablo IV and the different work involved in it as supporting evidence, including sensitive information such as names and social media accounts of QA employees, prompting concerns over the possibility of targeted online harassment.

The NLRB’s regional director dismissed Blizzard’s arguments as irrelevant and said the difference in projects amount to differences in assignment only, with no effect on the collective interests of workers, whose annual salaries are approximately $15,000 less than other Blizzard employees.

The NLRB will begin mailing ballots to the QA unit members on Oct. 27, 2022, and the vote count will take place in a video conference on Nov. 18, 2022.

Activision Blizzard responded to the NLRB’s decision in a statement the Post obtained, reiterating the company’s belief that all employees should have the right to vote instead of just one unit. Labor experts previously told The Washington Post that anti-union companies often use similar tactics to dilute the voting pool and decrease the chance of a vote favorable to unionization efforts across the company.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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More than 40 minutes of Diablo 4 footage leaked on Reddit

Loads of new gameplay video from Diablo 4 is floating around online.

Diablo 4 might not be coming out until next year, but heaps of new gameplay footage leaked over the weekend.

Over on Reddit, user iV1rus0 shared roughly 44 minutes of Diablo 4 video from a private test build. More specifically, two videos: one lasts approximately five minutes while the other approaches 38 minutes. It looks like the person playing was streaming over Discord since there are audible notification sounds throughout the footage from that application. 

GLHF verified that the footage is indeed genuine, though we will not host it since Blizzard is already taking most mirrors down. While it’s undoubtedly an early build of Diablo 4, everything appears relatively polished. Sections of the environments are missing textures, but nearly everyone from user interface options and a full suite of combat actions are intact. 

Whoever is playing selects the Barbarian class and blitzes through countless demonic minions – as you would expect from an entry in this series, though it’s hard to make out what skills and abilities are in use. Interestingly, some new features like climbing and jumping appear in Diablo 4 — neither of which were in previous entries. 

The Diablo 4 gameplay footage probably won’t stay up for too long. Through some wild twist of fate, GTA 6 also leaked this past weekend, which Rockstar isn’t happy about.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Diablo 4 beta keys are available for fans willing to get permanent tattoos

Get fresh ink, then gain early access to the highly-anticipated action RPG.

The wait for Diablo 4 is already agonizing. Amazingly, some fans hope blasphemous body art could be their shortcut to trying the game early.

Last month, Blizzard announced the Hell’s Ink promotional tour for Diablo 4. Select tattoo shops throughout the UK, US, Australia, and Germany from July 16 until Sept. 10, 2022, are offering diehard fans the opportunity to get Diablo-themed needlework. Yes, it’s all permanent too! 

“Each Diablo Hell’s Ink takeover event will feature some of the world’s greatest tattoo artists creating bespoke tattoos,” Blizzard said via the official company blog. “inspired by the Diablo universe with their own unique art style, for a few of the world’s biggest Diablo fans.”

If you’re hoping that take part in this promotion, better luck next time — Blizzard selected participants from a now-closed social media contest (Thanks, PC Gamer). Those lucky winners received a card promising beta access along with a full digital copy of Diablo 4. Check out some of the tattoos that have already popped up on social media below.

Major kudos to anyone brave enough to get one of these. At least the linework is top-notch!  

Diablo 4 will release for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC next year. Hopefully, it’ll turn out better than Diablo Immortal.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Diablo 4 is coming out in 2023

Blizzard’s action RPG phenomenon got a new trailer, class, and release window.

During the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on Sunday, Blizzard announced Diablo 4 will come out in 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

developing…

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Diablo 4 will have five regions and hundreds of gothic dungeons

Blizzard reveals ambitious plans for the action RPG adventure.

The latest quarterly update for Diablo 4 reveals that there’ll be more than 150 dungeons and five regions ripe for exploration.

On Tuesday, Blizzard gave some insight into Diablo 4’s sprawling open world. Associate art director Brian Fletcher claims variety is critical in making monster-squashing fun.

“The world of Diablo 4 is incredibly large, utilizing numerous unique tile-sets to cover all the various zones, biomes, and cultures. In order to create so much high-quality content, we found clever ways to reuse our tile-sets and add enough variety to cover 150+ dungeons. All while providing fresh experiences each time,” Fletcher said. “One way we can do that is by dressing up tile-sets with various themes. This next dungeon is a hidden druid resting site overrun with demons. As you travel through the dungeon, you’ll see that it is covered with many druidic cultural items, such as talismans and charms.”

Check out some of Diablo 4’s gothic environments in the video below. The full quarterly update blog post is available here as well.

Art director Chris Ryder states that Diablo 4 will also have five regions with distinct visual styles and flavors. Purists can rest easy, though, as the development team wants to create the most gnarly and blood-curdling installment in years.

“We approach creating the environments of Diablo 4 through a darker and more grounded interpretation than earlier installments. The aim is for believability, not realism. Believability comes through our use of materials and deliberate construction of architecture and artifacts you will come across as you play through dungeons and the open world,” Ryder explains. “After all, Sanctuary is full of history, struggle, and conflict, giving us many opportunities to depict a diverse world full of compelling locations in a dark gothic-medieval setting. Even the wealthiest areas in Sanctuary are challenging to exist in.”

Diablo 4 isn’t coming out until 2023, though registration for Diablo Immortal is open if you need a hack-and-slash fix. With Blizzard still dealing with the ongoing toxic workplace allegations and fallout from Microsoft’s acquisition, it’s no surprise Diablo 4 is still far from release.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Blizzard delays highly-anticipated titles ‘Overwatch 2’ and ‘Diablo 4’

No new Blizzard games are coming out for a while, it seems.

During a quarterly earnings call, Activision Blizzard announced that delays for both Overwatch 2  and Diablo 4. Beyond 2022 from the sounds of it too.

“While we are still planning to deliver a substantial amount of content from Blizzard next year,” Activision Blizzard said during the earnings call. “We are now planning for a later launch for Overwatch 2  and Diablo IV  than originally envisaged.”

Activision Blizzard’s reasoning behind the delay is to give its development teams more time. Both to grow resources and to ensure the games, you know, turn out great!

Check out the complete statement for yourself below.

[This is a developing story, check back for updates]

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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