The most popular spawn of prime evil may be coming to the Xbox One, according to a report by Videogamer. Despite Blizzard's confirmation that they're working on it, there's still no official release planned. Is this a dark trick meant to corrupt us? Nah, it's just another case of a business agreement that's still pending.
Videogamer spoke to Blizzard's Alex Mayberry, Diablo 3 lead producer, and discovered that despite simultaneous development of the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, the game is still only on track for a PlayStation 4 release.
"I don't know where we are with Microsoft right now so I can't really comment on what that contract looks like," Mayberry said. "The point is we are developing for Xbox [One] and PS4 simultaneously. We hit those major platforms and then our goal as a development team is to make them run."
"We have that pipeline worked out," he continued. "We've already done it with the 360 and PS3, so that team knows how to develop at the same time for both of those platforms. That's just what we do. And then Blizzard and Microsoft can work out whatever they work out."
The current situation is similar to Diablo 3's release on last-generation consoles; the game was first announced for PlayStation 3 and then released on Xbox 360 as well. Blizzard developed those two versions simultaneously, presumably to be prepared for an agreement with Microsoft.
It's hard to figure out why Diablo 3 on Xbox One would be an on-going discussion that hasn't been set-in-stone already, but that's what's happening. If Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition does come to Xbox One, with it comes Diablo 3 and its upcoming expansion Reaper of Souls all in one package.
The Reaper of Souls expansion pack releases on PC and Mac tomorrow. The currently announced Ultimate Evil Edition on PlayStation 4 has no concrete date, just a “not far off” from Mayberry.
After purchasing Diablo 3 on PC to play with some friends, I find that enjoy it a lot. I had no experience with the game prior to the death of the auction house, but the consensus seems to be in favor of its new loot system that doesn't rely on a digital storefront and instead one built into the game and balanced by player level.
