In case there was still any doubt, Blizzard has now officially set the record straight; Diablo III is not coming to PlayStation 4 this year.
Some fans were hopeful that the game would end up being a launch title for Sony’s upcoming next-gen console, which will be released before the end of 2013. Sadly, this definitely isn’t the case now. Blizzard is defending their desire to release Diablo III’s PlayStation 4 edition in 2014 at the earliest, mainly because they want time to get the most out of the new hardware.
You see, Blizzard apparently just received PlayStation 4 dev kits, despite announcing that Diablo III would be coming to PlayStation 4 during the console’s announcement presentation back in February. That seems somehow sloppy on Sony’s part, but perhaps this was an intentional desire by Blizzard. After all, Blizzard seems firmly committed to properly realizing the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports of Diablo III, before properly starting work on a next-gen build.
Blizzard has expressed a desire to take advantage of the PlayStation 4 controller’s Touch Pad and Share Button in Diablo III’s PlayStation 4 port, though wouldn’t confirm if this was already an idea they were committed to. They were also coy on whether or not Diablo III would also release on Xbox One, despite the fact that the game is coming to Xbox 360. Xbox gamers hoping for their own next-gen port of Diablo III will probably have to keep crossing their fingers.
Diablo III has been available on PC and Mac since May of 2012, after spending over a decade in development. The loot-driven action-RPG coming to consoles also marks the first time that Blizzard has properly released a console video game since the Super NES era! Blizzard had planned a Starcraft spin-off, Starcraft: Ghost, for release on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox during the previous hardware generation, but it ended up being cancelled.
Diablo III launches for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 3rd of this year. The PlayStation 3 edition is said to have exclusive PlayStation-inspired items for players to use, a perk that is planned to also be included in the upcoming PlayStation 4 edition. The game will be completely identical to its PC and Mac counterparts on consoles, though the controversial Real Money Auction House from the original computer builds will be removed in the console versions, according to Blizzard. Blizzard also cautions that potential Diablo III expansions may not launch on all platforms at the same time.
Don’t forget to keep raising Eggplante for all of your Diablo news, as we can conjure it!