World of Warcraft and Overwatch developer Blizzard isn’t in the best of places right now.
The company is currently under intense scrutiny over its controversial banning of a competitive HearthStone player during a recent tournament, an act that has prompted a huge number of longtime fans to swear off its games, past, present and future. With that PR nightmare showing no signs of abating and the unfortunately-timed BlizzCon expo coming up shortly, observers are eager to see not only how the event will pan out, but the announcements that Blizzard potentially intends to make as a means of clawing back some goodwill.
Unfortunately, possibly the biggest surprise of all appears to have leaked ahead of time. Magazine ads for a new art book celebrating the entire Diablo franchise have been spotted by fans and one keyword, in, particular, has caught the eye of many. You can check out the discovery for yourselves via the gallery below, courtesy of Twitter user Naeri.
The leak in question comes from the German magazine GameStar and the accompanying description roughly translates to “over 500 artworks from Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo III and Diablo IV.”
Is this finally the concrete confirmation of a Diablo 4 that fans have been waiting almost eight years for? Unfortunately not, but the timing of the ad’s publication is certainly indicative of an official announcement next month. It’s worth noting, too, that the art book being advertised is due to be officially released the day after BlizzCon concludes, perfectly fitting into the proposed timeline of events.
For fear of Blizzard’s fortunes taking yet another turn for the worse, I can only hope the leak is accurate. The last thing it or anyone else will want is a repeat of last year’s ill-fated Diablo Immortal announcement.