A Minnesota Best Buy has
published an advert for Diablo 3, which lists the game's release date as
February 1st. The game is officially
scheduled for release in “Q1 2012”, but the Best Buy advertisement has appeared
only days after Jay Wilson, Diablo 3’s director, announced that the game was
“almost done."
Speaking in interviews
released on Diablo’s website, Wilson
appeared alongside Blizzard Entertainment vice
president Chris Metzen to discuss the upcoming third game in the hit RPG series: “We are almost done with Diablo III…we are getting it to you as soon as we can” said Wilson, who joined Blizzard in 2007.
The interview marks the fifteenth anniversary of the original Diablo game, which was released on December 31st, 1996. Metzen, who has worked on the series since it began, also took some time out to speculate over Diablo 3: “I think people are going to fall into the world like never before…I think it’s the sharpest chapter of Diablo yet.”A picture of the Best Buy ad was originally posted on Twitter, but quickly pulled off again, casting some doubt over its authenticity. Joystiq.com then contacted the retailer, who confirmed that the advertisement was genuine. Though Blizzard Entertainment has yet to make any official comment, UK-based retailer GamePlay has also updated its listings, with the PAL version of Diablo 3 now scheduled for February 3rd.