Leaked Concept Art Leads to Speculation of New Diablo 3 Expansion

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Leaked Concept Art Leads to Speculation of New Diablo 3 Expansion

Is there a new Diablo 3 expansion being announced at Blizzcon this weekend?

Every year there's lots of speculation leading up Blizzcon about just what might be announced, and this year is no exception. Thanks to some leaked concept art, the rumor this year is that Blizzard will show off a new expansion for Diablo 3.

The rumbles began when some concept art popped in the Blizzard Gear store and was posted to the Diablo subreddit. While the poster originally declined to post the image itself, it was later added. Blizzard has pulled the image down (it was originally found here [https://gear.blizzard.com/media/catalog/product/b/z/bzc16_necromancerfineart_webver_3.jpg]) but as is always the case, it's still out there and circulating. Here it is:

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1359/1359292.jpg

Most people think that the image shows off the much-requested Necromancer class, which didn't make the jump from Diablo 2. That view is certainly buttressed by the fact that the image shows both male and female versions of the character. Additionally, the original url of the image also includes "bzc16_necromancer," and other Blizzcon 2016 images use the "bzc16" nomenclature. Finally, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Diablo, so what better time to announce a new expansion?

Furthermore, the art is signed by John Mueller, who's listed as an art director at Blizzard on his LinkedIn account [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mueller-645a74], and was been rumored to have taken over as Diablo's art director earlier this year.

All that said, there's certainly at least one more possibility. The Necromancer Xul was added to Heroes of the Storm in the not-too-distant past, so the image could have some relation to that game instead. It could also be a tease for the rumored remaster of Diablo 2, but that seems a bit unlikely.

Whatever it turns out to be, it's definitely got Diablo fans intrigued. We'll find out for sure this Friday when Blizzcon 2016 kicks off.


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[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Oh man, I really hope it's a new expansion.
Xul is awesome in Heroes of the Storm and I'd love to see a Necromancer in Diablo 3.
While the Witch Doctor is cool and all, you can't beat the classics.

 

[RJ 17]

Ehhhhhhh I think it's time for a full game, not another expansion that will be blown through a month after it's out then it's back to just sitting around waiting for the new season which just says "Ok, now this time this is the set that's all super badass!"

One thing's for sure: I can't imagine any "big announcement" related to Diablo that is associated with a teaser image of a male and female necromancer would be regarding Xul in HotS...unless they're just going to give him a skin that lets you play as a female necromancer.

 

[gigastar]

Why wouldnt it be Diablo 4?

Diablo 3, few years old now, and as a rule theres always less people buying the new expansions.

Hypothetical Diablo 4, something Activision can set the hype engine behind to make it into one of 2017s holiday blockbusters, the Blizzard Cult of Personality would crawl a mile through Mosul to get a copy, and it would benefit from more completely nessessary HD Pixie Dust.

Oh and they can finally put the Auction House behind them for good.

Anyway, not really seeing the benefit of another expansion to a sequel.

 

[Hawki]

Well, this makes me a sad panda. Why? Because the artwork suggests that either:

-Diablo II is receiving an HD remake with selectable genders, in which case, sigh. Look, while I personally dislike Diablo II, that aside, does the game need an HD remake? I could get behind the game being integrated into the b.net launcher, but it just feels so...lazy. Personal dislike aside, I'm not so ignorant as to be unaware that D2 is generally considered the strongest in the series, so if Blizzard is going to remake one of its games, I'd say WC1 or 2 needs it far more than stuff like D2 or SC1, which hold up much better.

-Diablo III is receiving a necromancer class, in which case, um, yay? I dunno, if the game is getting a new class and a new act via an expansion, well, yay, I guess, it would give me an excuse to finish Reaper of Souls to get to the new act, but, yeah. I dunno, I have to ask, if D3 did get the necromancer, I have to ask, would it be because the designers genuinely wanted it? Or out of an attempt to appease D2 fans (I'm well aware that the necromancer is the most popular class).

-Even in the unlikely event that the art pertains to a "Diablo IV," or a different game in the series entirely, it means that we'll still have the necromancer as a class. That's really a nitpick (after all, the barbarian has been playable in every game, and the paladin and crusader share the archtype for instance), but, well, wouldn't mind seeing something new.

So, yeah. Maybe I'm just being cantakorous for the sake of it, but, well, meh. At the least, I'm well aware that I'm very atypical Diablo player (see the above comments), who likes the setting more than the gameplay, so don't worry about me.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I'm good if it's an expansion, although I would much prefer it to be the next Diablo game itself. I've kind of played III into the ground now, and I'm not one who is big on grinding just for better gear. I play these games for the lore and the story. So an expansion would be nice, but a full game would be better.

And if it's somehow a remake of Diablo II, especially for consoles, I am all over that.

 

[spartandude]

Why wouldnt it be Diablo 4?

Diablo 3, few years old now, and as a rule theres always less people buying the new expansions.

It may have been a few years since D3 but it has yet to be a few centuries. Blizzard doesn't make a game any more unless a geological era has passed.

 

[gigastar]

Why wouldnt it be Diablo 4?

Diablo 3, few years old now, and as a rule theres always less people buying the new expansions.

It may have been a few years since D3 but it has yet to be a few centuries. Blizzard doesn't make a game any more unless a geological era has passed.

So youre just going to sweep Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch under the rug for the sake of a meme that has stopped being relevant?

 

[BoogieManFL]

Was my favorite class in Diablo 2, I was very disappointed when I learned he wasn't going to be in the sequel. I will play Diablo 3 again if the Necromancer is indeed part of the expansion. Otherwise? Meh.

 

[Zulnam]

They better add more than just a new class and a chapter if they want Diablo 3 to remain relevant.

Lol joke it will sell like hotcakes anyway because Blizzard.

 

[Charli]

Why wouldnt it be Diablo 4?

Diablo 3, few years old now, and as a rule theres always less people buying the new expansions.

It may have been a few years since D3 but it has yet to be a few centuries. Blizzard doesn't make a game any more unless a geological era has passed.

So youre just going to sweep Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch under the rug for the sake of a meme that has stopped being relevant?

Hey the meme is alive and well for entries into old series'. (Unless it's WoW of course)

Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 took all the time of species evolution to procure. If it really is a Diablo 4 announcement then this'll be an unprecedentedly fast sequel into an old IP in many many years.

I'm still holding out for a Warcraft 4 though. I HAVE DREAMS. DREAMS OF LOVING BOTH WoW AND THE RTS GAMES SIMULTANEOUSLY.