Blizzard: Next Diablo 3 Announcement Will Piss Off Many Fans

It seems Blizzard isn’t making many fans with the features it has revealed so far for Diablo 3, its highly anticipated action-RPG. First was the colorful palette that added richness and variety to the game’s world; this was opposed by rabid fans who wanted the game to retain the dark, gritty look of its predecessors.

Lead designer Jay Wilson predicted that some fans of the series will hate the next class his team will announce, adding that the swapping of classes is necessary to establish the game’s “identity”.

“All the Barbarian players are delighted and all the Necromancers hate us. I understand, I don’t begrudge them that,” he said. “I would hate me too! But what I would say is that when we announce the next class, which is quite similar to a previous class, then all those players will hate us too.”

Diablo 3 will retain only one player class from its predecessors. Wilson would not offer any details as to what the third announced class would be.

No release date is yet known for the game, though it is expected in late 2009.