'Diablo 3' Loses Director: Blizzard Now Looking For Replacement, Upcoming Project At Risk? [VIDEO]
Blizzard Entertainment has recently posted several new job openings for the company's Diablo franchise, the most notable of which is a new game director, together with a handful of other staff. According to Blizzard's announcement, the game director must be someone who could be a "vision holder" for the massive gaming brand, and is able to lead the Diablo franchise in the years to come.
The job openings were announced after it was revealed that Josh Mosqueira, who joined Blizzard in 2011, and who had been leading Diablo 3 as a game director in 2013, has officially left the studio.
"With Diablo III in a good place at this point, Josh felt that now was a good time to pursue other opportunities with minimal impact to the team. We'll be filling the director role either from within Blizzard or externally," Blizzard said in a statement.
With the announcement, numerous fans of Diablo have gotten apprehensive about the future of the massive gaming franchise. After all, with the last expansion pack for Diablo 3 being released on 2014, numerous fans have been hoping for possibly another expansion to be released sometime this year.
Mosqueira's departure from Blizzard was seen by many as probably another nail on Diablo 3's coffin. Thus, a pervading thought among fans of the franchise is that Diablo 3 would now be abandoned and simply maintained, while Blizzard works on Diablo 4.
Diablo 3 has been a massive commercial success, managing to sell 30 million copies since the game was first released. Together with its 2014 expansion, Reaper of Souls, the game now holds the distinction of having outsold every Call of Duty and Pokemon game ever released.
As much as the game is a commercial success, however, it has not stood the test of time very well, especially among die-hard fans of the series. With a color palette that was closer to Warcraft than the dark and scary atmosphere of the first two games, Diablo 3 was considered by many fans to be far too light and different than its predecessors.
Apart from this, several other issues, such as the infamous Auction House controversy, also plagued the title. Reaper of Souls was warmly received, but Diablo 3 continues to have a rather tarnished legacy.
This could actually be a reason why Blizzard is being open to hiring new talent. With massive hit games such as Hearthstone and Overwatch currently under its belt, it almost seems like the company is experiencing a renaissance. If this is indeed the case, Diablo 4 might very well be the title every Diablo fan has been waiting for.
