author: Bart Swiatek
Diablo 2 Creator on Canceled Expansion and Plans for Diablo 3
In a series of Tweets, renowned developer David Brevik talked about the canceled expansion for Diablo 2, as well as the original idea for the sequel.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- David Brevik - one of former developers at Blizzard North - talked on Twitter about the planned, but never created, second expansion for Diablo 2;
- The add-on was to introduce the cleric class to the game;
- The developer's posts also include information about the original idea for Diablo 3, which deviates from the final rendition;
- D3 in David Brevik's vision was a hybrid of ARPG and MMO, which is somewhat reminiscent of the idea for Diablo 4 currently in development.
It looks like the iconic hack'n'slash game Diablo 2 could have received a second expansion (the first one was Lord of Destruction, which was released in June 2001 - exactly a year after the release of the base game). Former Blizzard North studio employee David Brevik shared information on Twitter about the project, which ultimately never made it beyond the concept phase.
Diablo 2 - the story of an expansion that never got made
All indications are that the expansion in question would have added the cleric class to the game, but it's worth noting that the idea for this character was most likely a bit different from how it's typically presented (the character probably wouldn't be a specialist in healing and supporting allies).
Information about the second expansion for Diablo 2 also appeared in Stay Awhile and Listen: Book 2 by David Craddock (via Eurogamer). He mentions, among others, one of the ideas - a base for a guild called Stieg Stone (in tribute to the developer Stieg Hedlund), the members of which could help the player progress for money.
The expansion was being created 6-12 months before David Brevik left Blizzard North. This was one of the reasons why it was never finished, although the main reason was the fact that the company simply had a lot on its mind at the time - patches for Diablo 2, an unannounced project, and the early version of Diablo 3 which also never saw the light of day.
Diablo 3 could have been different as well
Speaking of Diablo 3, in David Brevik's recent tweets there appeared a thread related to this game. Interestingly, according to the first plans of the developers, it was supposed to look noticeably different from what was finally released.
Some fans pointed out that the idea for this expansion seems similar to what Blizzard is planning for Diablo 4. David Brevik referred to it in this way.
