Max Schaefer says no Diablo 3 in 2011

Runic Games' Max Schaefer does not think Blizzard will manage a 2012 release for Diablo 3.

Max was busy showing off Torchlight 2 at Gamescom this week and had many Diablo related questions fired at him during his Torchlight 2 demos. Max was of course the man behind the previous two Diablo titles so his comments are coming from experience of working at Blizzard.

In one of the interviews with German Magazine Gamestar, Max apparently stated that Blizzard would not make a 2011 release of Diablo 3 adding "Diablo 3 won’t be coming in 2011, but in the first quarter of 2012 at the earliest".

Blizzard has been aiming to get he game out the door this year and the beta test will get underway next month for stress testing the Battle.Net system, but according to Max who keeps in touch with some of the folk at Blizzard, the game just won't be ready.

We have to treat this as a 'rumour' because it's not clear what Max said exactly and who his sources are, but I do believe it is going to be hard for Blizzard to get it out the door this year. For the sake of Diablo players everywhere, let's hope they knuckle down and blast through that testing.