Team 3 is the designation for a Blizzard Entertainment development team, receiving its designation as per the company's post-World of Warcraft approach to games development.[1] In 2018, it consisted of between 100—300 individuals.[2]
Few members of Team 3 are from Blizzard North, though many had played the previous installments before beginning work on Diablo III.[3]
History
Team 3 was formed after the closure of Blizzard North. Unlike its predecessor, it would operate internally within Blizzard.[4]
In the time period between the release of Diablo III and Reaper of Souls, the team consisted of either 400 individuals[5] or according to other sources, 100.[6]
After the release of RoS, and the cancellation of The King in the North, Team 3 was split up. Some left Blizzard, some were transferred to work on World of Warcraft or the nascent Overwatch, and some remained to work on patches for Diablo III while planning Diablo IV. What this resulted in was Project Hades.[7] However, the development of Hades was rocky—it only required a small group of staff in its initial stages, which left the rest of Team 3 with little to do. A few of them began calling themselves "Team Summer Camp" in an echo of what had happened at Blizzard North many years earlier. People would arrive at work, play Diablo III, have lunch, head home, etc. As some of the "Summer Camp" team moved to the Hades team, the pressure grew on Mosqueira to make decisions so they'd have something to do. However, Mosqueira became harder to track down, coming in to the office only two or three days a week, which hampered some of the designers’ progress as they waited for feedback.[6]
In December, 2014, members of Team 3 provided consultation with Bungie on the development of The Taken King, as Activision had noticed similar complaints leveled at Destiny as the original version of Diablo III.[8]
Project Hades was cancelled in 2016, leading to another split in Team 3. One group began work on Rise of the Necromancer, while the other began work on Diablo IV. It is not working on Diablo Immortal, which is purely an Incubation/NetEase venture.[7]
In February 2019, after a round of layoffs at Activision Blizzard, it was announced that the team would be expanded.[9] In 2020, Team 3, in addition to developing Diablo IV, was assigned to the development of Diablo II: Resurrected, alongside Vicarious Visions.[10]
For development of Diablo IV, Team 3 is sub-divided into a number of teams working on different content. These include two season teams and an expansion team.[11]
By the end of 2024, Microsoft will lay off a number of Team 3 members as part of cutting 3% of its global workforce.[12]
References
- ↑ 2014-10-03, THE THREE LIVES OF BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT. Polygon, accessed on 2014-10-04
- ↑ 2018-11-08, Our Full BlizzCon Interview With Blizzard Co-Founder Allen Adham. Game Informer, accessed on 2018-11-22
- ↑ 2011-11-29, Diablo III feature: Blizzard's plans to satisfy their fanbase and still deliver a fresh experience. PC Gamer, accessed on 2014-11-10
- ↑ Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, p.g. 157
- ↑ 2017-08-02, How Blizzard Saved Diablo 3 From Disaster. Kotaku, accessed on 2017-08-06
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 2024-10-08, The Diablo IV Nobody Ever Saw. Wired, accessed on 2024-10-12
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 2018-11-22, The Past, Present, And Future Of Diablo. Kotaku, accessed on 2018-11-22
- ↑ 2015-10-20, The Messy, True Story Behind The Making Of Destiny. Kotaku, accessed on 2015-10-21
- ↑ 2019-02-12, Activision Blizzard has record profits, so it’s cutting 8% of its staff. Blizzard Watch, accessed on 2019-02-13
- ↑ 2021-01-23, Blizzard Absorbs Activision Studio After Dismantling Classic Games Team. Bloomberg, retrieved on 2021-02-17
- ↑ 2023-08-31, Pushing Buttons: ‘Forever games’ like Diablo IV want to be the only thing you play – but is that a good thing?. The Guardian, accessed on 2023-08-31
- ↑ 2024-09-28, More Details For Recent Microsoft Layoffs Reveals Team Overwatch 2 And Diablo 4 Got Struck The Hardest. Fandom Wire, accessed on 2024-09-29