Blizzard Pegs SC II: HOTS For 2013, Outs Diablo Expansion

Today, Blizzard got on a phone and opened its collective mouth, and as so often tends to happen when these factors combine, words came out. Instead of glorious operatic ovations or beat poetry, however, the words somewhat surprisingly took the form of videogame announcements. And the games in question? Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. Madness, right? What a world we live in! What a world. Ride the break down into the frightful depths of uncertainty for the full blow-by-blow.

First up, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. It's still in beta, of course, and odds are, it'll stay that way into the early reaches of next year. Blizzard president Mike Morhaime noted that the team's "working hard" to gear up for launch in the first half of 2013. And thus, Blizzard's prediction from the beginning of the year remains correct: two releases in 2012.

One of those, of course, was Diablo III. And while it's been criticized to hell and back, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick announced that the long-awaited threequel has sold 10 million units. Morhaime later confirmed that an expansion's in development, and - as per usual - its eventual release date will be determined by a commitment to quality and polish above all else. He did not, however, reply to my question (which, oddly enough, no one ever asked) about whether or not Bobby Kotick himself would be the final boss.

Lastly, Morhaime noted that World of Warcraft was hoisted on the shoulders of pandas and carried back across the 10 million subscriber line. Will it last? If I had to guess, I'd say probably not, but Blizzard's all about faster WoW updates now, so who knows what the future holds?

So then, what does everyone want from a Diablo III expansion? I think I want a pony. A pony with hard-hitting and visceral gameplay.