Blizzard Officially Unveils Diablo III

At the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational in Paris this weekend, the oft rumored Diablo III was finally made official. Like its predecessors, the third installment in the Diablo franchise will feature more hack-and-slash action that has made the series a huge hit with fans. More than 18.5 million units have been sold worldwide in the Diablo franchise since its debut in 1996.

Diablo III will sport a custom 3D-graphics engine to "render lush indoor and outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special effects. The game’s physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players and monsters alike." The game will also offer a new quest system and random scripted events, a random-level generator, and co-op and competitive play online via Battle.net, which is being upgraded. The storyline in Diablo III will pick up 20 years after Diablo II.

"We’ve wanted to expand on the epic story and gameplay elements of the Diablo universe for some time now," stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We know that players have also been long awaiting a return to the series, so we’re very excited to be sharing this announcement with Blizzard gamers here in Paris and around the world today."

The game is being developed for a simultaneous release on PC and Mac, but a release date was not announced. Much more information on the game, along with screenshots and trailers, can be found on the new official website.

Additionally, Blizzard reiterated that with multiple games in development, the company has "numerous positions currently available." Those looking for a job at Blizzard should check out this page.