Diablo III Release Delayed Into Early 2012 by Blizzard

Blizzard has just announced a brand new release window for its eagerly awaited Diablo III role playing dungeon crawler, as it is now scheduled to be launched in early 2012, instead of the previous end of the year estimate.

Diablo fans were treated with massive news at the beginning of the week, as Blizzard kicked off the closed beta for the RPG through its Battle.net online service for a certain number of privileged users.

Now, after deploying the test version of the game, Blizzard, its developer and publisher, has confirmed a new release window for Diablo III, in the form of early 2012.

"Despite a sterling record of always hitting its release targets, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the expected launch window for Diablo III, the next title in the company’s critically acclaimed series of action role-playing games, will be moving into early 2012," said the company in an official statement.

"With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn't put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.

Morhaime continues, saying that the beta test is already going very well, so the company might be able to invite more people as it progresses.

"The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we're taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers."

The extra time will be used by Blizzard to polish up the features of Diablo III using feedback from the beta. Battle.net users who have at least one game tied to their account should visit the 'Account Management' section and opt in to try out beta versions of upcoming products.

Expect more details about Diablo III and its release date in the near future.