Diablo creator David Brevik's plans for Diablo III were very different from what we got
If Blizzard North had stuck around, Diablo III would have become a very different beast.
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Ever since the fantasy masterpiece we know as Diablo III emerged from the void after a lengthy 15-year wait in 2012, it's safe to say the game hasn't lost much, if any, of its appeal in the nine or so years since then. It still retains an impressive amount of players today, not to mention it maintains a gold standard for many dungeon crawlers to aspire to, in terms of its narrative, depth of gameplay, and various other aspects.
So, as the world waits for the fourth instalment in this beloved franchise to arrive, it's amusing to think that we could have ended up with something very different if Diablo's original development studio, Blizzard North stayed in one piece. Or at least, that's what Diablo's original creator David Brevik thinks.
For those who were still in their nappies when the OG Diablo first released, Blizzard North was the studio behind the first two games, both of which were massively successful in their own right, and the team already had plans for the third instalment too. However, as the story goes, the studio saw a startling number of staff resignations during that period, which eventually culminated in its dissolution. Afterward, the main team at Blizzard Entertainment took over the development of the franchise, and their efforts gave us the truly epic game that we know and love today as Diablo 3.
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Which is to say that Brevik himself never worked on the game per se, and he shared on Twitter that a lot of the aspects they conceptualised for the "original" iteration actually ended up in 2016's Marvel Heroes, which Brevik designed with Gazillion Entertainment and Secret Identity Studios. In his response to a fan's question regarding his thoughts on the scrapped Diablo 3 plans, he noted that the game he envisioned featured "ARPG+MMO" characteristics, with "MMO in terms of many people playing at once, not like WoW.".
It's actually an interesting take to have on the well-entrenched Diablo formula, and although it's a pity that such an iteration might never see the light of day, it doesn't make the one we have now any less awesome. Speaking of which, here's a gentle reminder that BlizzCon takes place over this coming weekend, so make sure to check back with us for the latest updates.
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