Initially expected to appear for the holidays in 2011, Blizzard has now officially announced a delay - Diablo 3 will not ship in 2011 and is instead now targeted for early 2012. This also means that the beta test that started on 20th September will be extended and more people will be invited later this year.
This is not completely unexpected as the initial feedback over the beta seems to have been more harsh than on any previous Blizzard title - no, don't get me wrong, Diablo 3 (based on the current beta) isn't a bad game... it is just that it lacks some of that polish Blizzard is known for and features a couple of questionable design decisions that could still get tweaked with some extra time. It definitely looks already like a game that could have shipped this year, but it would have meant some compromises in quality.
