In a move sure to generate reams of speculation from Diablo fans the world over, the former owner of Diablo3.com just revealed that the domain has been handed over to Blizzard on request.
It seems that Blizzard contacted the site's management a few months back asking for use of the domain, and, being a loyal fan of Blizzard's series, the webmaster handed it over to Blizzard completely gratis.
While it's not uncommon for corporations of all kinds to snap up domains even tangentially related to their products, it's almost too easy to see this move as a strategic step laying the groundwork for the eventual release of a third Diablo game.
Let's not forget that it's been almost eight years since the last full Diablo title -- that's a long wait for a sequel, even by Blizzard's notoriously meticulous standards.
Financially, another Diablo game seems almost predestined. Both Diablo,* Diablo II *and their sequels are among the best-selling PC games of all time and short of Counterstrike zealots, few PC game have generated such a loyal following amongst fans.
Finally, after three and a half years of exponential momentum gains, Blizzard's World of Warcraft seems to have plateaued, at least in terms of how many new fans it can generate here in America.
In order to maintain that lucrative new gamer subset, Blizzard is going to have to cater to their interests. Starcraft II's deep strategic gameplay certainly won't appeal to the average teenage girl weaned on WoW, but since the WoW gameplay formula was basically lifted directly from Diablo II, Diablo 3 might be the perfect game to lock in all those new gamers.
Or maybe this is all wishful thinking on my part.
Diablo3.com becomes Diablofans.com [Diablofans Forum]
Image courtesy Blizzard Entertainment
