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The King in the North was the codename of a proposed second expansion for Diablo III.
History[]
Conception and Cancelation[]
The expansion was planned during the development of Reaper of Souls.[1] As the expansion neared completion, Team 3 began discussing what would come afterwards. They were operating under the belief that Diablo III would follow the StarCraft II model of a base game followed by two expansions. The team began looking at "really big ideas," but there was nothing definitive.[2]
The expansion was expected to be revealed at BlizzCon 2015.[1] However, shortly before Reaper was released, Team 3 was informed that Diablo III would not get a second expansion, no matter what happened with Reaper. No clear explanation was given as to this decision, and it was all the more puzzling for Team 3 as Blizzard's executive branch had been complimentary towards Reaper.[2]
In truth, Mike Morhaime and members of Blizzard's C-suite felt that Diablo III had damaged the IP's brand, and doubted that Reaper would be enough to turn around player reception. Furthermore, Morhaime was feeling pressure from Robert Kotick and other Activision staff, who were concerned that Blizzard was trying to work on too many projects at once.[2]
Another issue was Diablo III's revenue model.[2] Reportedly, Blizzard was reluctant to commit to a second expansion because Diablo III lacks a steady revenue stream (aside from its Asian, free to play model), whereas most of its other games involve either a subscription fee (e.g. World of Warcraft) or microtransactions (e.g. Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm), therefore the game has low profitability compared to other Blizzard games in most regions (Asia being a notable exception).[3] This made it difficult for Blizzard to support a team of 100 people working on the game. John Hight begged Morhaime and Blizzard's other executives to wait until Reaper of Souls was shipped before making any final decision on the second expansion, but his requests were denied.[2]
According to a Blizzard employee, the overall sense within Team 3 was that the cancellation of the expansion was a vote of no confidence from higher executives, who thought that Diablo III had been a "colossal fuck-up."[1] According to another employee interviewed by Jason Schreier, it wasn't just Team 3 that was devastated by the expansion's cancellation, but all of Blizzard's development staff.[2]
Aftermath[]
Reaper of Souls was well-received, but it was still not enough to dissuade Morhaime. Morhaime decided that the best move was to leave Diablo III on a high note and start fresh with a fourth game as quickly as possible.[2] Team 3 was instructed to move onto Diablo Immortal or Diablo IV, regardless of whatever form it may take.[1]
The expansion's content was broken down into free patch content. Examples included the Ruins of Sescheron and Greyhollow Island.[3] The content was released for free at Morhaime's insistence, for whom the decision "was about winning back the hearts and minds of people who were disappointed with the original release."[4]
In July 2016, it was reported that the expansion was put on hold due to a lack of available staff.[5]
Morhaime and other Blizzard executives would later privately admit that canceling the expansion before Reaper of Souls had even been released had been an error. Blizzard's leadership felt that Reaper had helped make up for the failures of the original game, but that they'd lost momentum shortly afterward, with the cancellation of both King in the North and Project Hades.[2]
Trivia[]
- "King in the North" is a title of note within the setting of A Song of Ice and Fire.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 2018-11-22, The Past, Present, And Future Of Diablo. Kotaku, accessed on 2018-11-22
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2024-10-08, The Diablo IV Nobody Ever Saw. Wired, accessed on 2024-10-12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 2016-07-06, Source: Blizzard Broke A Second 'Diablo 3' Expansion Into Patch Content. Forbes, accessed on 2016-07-07
- ↑ 2015, Diablo 3’s huge free updates are thanks to Mike Morhaime, dev team wants Nemesis system on PC. PC Games, accessed on 2016-07-08
- ↑ 2016-07-04, 'Diablo 4' Release Date News: Blizzard To Hire New Game Director Before Title’s Release Announcement?. Breathcast, accessed on 2016-07-05
Core Series — Diablo • Diablo II • Lord of Destruction • Diablo Immortal • Diablo III • Reaper of Souls • Rise of the Necromancer • Diablo IV • Vessel of Hatred
Licensed Expansions — Hellfire • Unearthed Arsenal
Tabletop RPGs — Dungeons and Dragons: Diablo II Edition (The Bloodstone Tomb, The Awakening, Diablerie, To Hell and Back, The Secret Cow Level) • Diablo: The Roleplaying Game
Board Games — Diablo Chess • Diablo III Mahjong • Diablo: The Board Game
Re-releases — Diablo Battle Chest • Diablo II: Resurrected • Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition • Diablo III: Eternal Collection
Canceled — Salvation • Diablo Junior • Diablo III • Diablo MMO • The King in the North • Project Hades