Last week in New York, Blizzard offered a product release roadmap (thanks Kotaku) for the next few years, showing what is to come in 2009, 2010, and a few years beyond. For this year, the company listed World of Warcraft only, however Blizzard obviously plans to provide content beyond 2011 with the release of Cataclysm in 2010 and other content beyond.
As for 2010, Blizzard also lists a few titles other than the World of Warcraft expansion. Included is the highly anticipated sci-fi RTS StarCraft II and the upgraded Battle.net. Also on Blizzard's list is "China Online," an entry we assume represents the updated version of World of Warcraft, specialized for the Chinese requirements.
But what isn't on the 2010 list is Diablo III. Gamers wanting the fantasy-themed action RPG may not see the game until 2011 or 2012 according to the presentation. This period of time will also host a few other titles however, including Blizzard's mystery "unannounced MMO" and the Star Craft II expansion. Battle.net also appears in the "next few years" category; we presume Blizzard will be making modifications and adding new features to the revamped service over the next three or so years.
It's unfortunate that Diablo III isn't making an appearance in 2010. As it stands, the game has been in development for four years, and may remain in development for a possible five. With that said, it may hit store shelves before Q4 2011, giving it a good six years to fester. Anything beyond that will make it qualified as a possible contender against Duke Nukem Forever.
Follow me on twitter to get more info about Diablo III!
