In this blog post, we’ll examine the background and rationale behind the predictions that “Diablo III” would be a massive success in the South Korean gaming market ahead of its release.
The release date for “Diablo 3”—which countless people had been waiting for over a decade—was finally set for May 15, 2012, after being postponed several times. At the time, jokes were so common that people said, “The release of ‘Diablo 3’ will cause South Korean male students’ grades to drop, and the proportion of female freshmen will exceed that of male students.” Given that so many people anticipated “Diablo 3” would be a hit, just how likely was it to actually succeed?
To understand why “Diablo 3” has garnered so much attention and why its success is considered a foregone conclusion, we first need to look at its developer, Blizzard Entertainment (hereinafter “Blizzard”). Blizzard is a world-renowned game developer widely known as the creator of ‘StarCraft’. In its early days, the company operated under the name Silicon & Synapse, but changed its name to the current Blizzard Entertainment in 1994. After the name change, it began to make a name for itself in the gaming market in earnest with the release of ‘Warcraft’, a real-time strategy (RTS) game.
Blizzard subsequently solidified its position by releasing numerous titles, leaving a strong impression on gamers worldwide with the 1995 release of ‘Warcraft II’ and the 1997 release of ‘Diablo’. “Warcraft II” was a real-time strategy game that built upon its predecessor, while “Diablo” supported Battle.net, an online service that was groundbreaking for its time. This service overcame the limitations of traditional role-playing games, which were primarily single-player, by providing a multiplayer environment where countless users could play together, leading to the game’s explosive popularity. Following the success of Battle.net, Blizzard integrated the service into most of its major titles, gradually building its own gaming ecosystem.
Building on the success of ‘Diablo,’ Blizzard released ‘StarCraft’ in 1998, a game that had a profound impact on the history of gaming in South Korea. It sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide in its first year alone, and with cumulative sales subsequently exceeding 11 million copies, it established itself as one of the most successful titles in the history of PC gaming. In South Korea, in particular, it gained explosive popularity, selling approximately 4.5 million copies. This success paved the way for various gaming tournaments, the emergence of dedicated gaming broadcasts, and the growth of professional gaming teams and the esports industry.
However, “StarCraft” was not guaranteed success from the start. Early development versions did not stray far from the framework of the existing “Warcraft II,” and when it was unveiled at the 1996 E3 Game Show, it received harsh criticism for being little more than a graphical overhaul of the original game. In response, the Blizzard development team humbly accepted the criticism and spent approximately two years completely overhauling the game. As a result, a new game—completely different from the initial version—was born, and through continuous updates and balance adjustments even after its release, it evolved into a title that is still regarded as a masterpiece today.
In 2000, Blizzard once again shook up the global action role-playing game market with the release of ‘Diablo II’. While retaining the dark atmosphere and intuitive interface of its predecessor, it added richer content and diverse systems, achieving popularity rivaling that of ‘StarCraft’ at the time of its release. Given the nature of the role-playing game genre, it was not easy to sustain the explosive popularity seen in the early days for an extended period. However, thanks to its Battle.net-based multiplayer, solid lore, and high level of polish, the game quickly surpassed 4 million copies in cumulative global sales. Subsequently, total sales for the entire series—including expansion packs—exceeded 17 million copies, making a significant mark in the history of action RPGs. Furthermore, it continues to maintain such high popularity that it is consistently ranked among the best PC games even many years later.
Blizzard subsequently solidified its position in the global gaming market by releasing ‘Warcraft III’ in 2002 and ‘World of Warcraft’ in 2004. Although ‘Warcraft III’ did not achieve the same level of success in South Korea as ‘StarCraft’ or ‘Diablo II’, it was a major success globally, selling millions of copies. Furthermore, ‘World of Warcraft’ was Blizzard’s first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and, as its name suggests, was developed based on the ‘Warcraft’ series’ universe. In particular, this title established itself as a flagship game in the global MMORPG market for a long time, amassing a massive user base and exerting a significant influence on the gaming industry as a whole. Although the later-released ‘StarCraft II’ did not surpass the cultural impact of its predecessor, it is regarded as a commercially successful title, having sold over several million copies worldwide.
There are several reasons why Blizzard’s games consistently achieve outstanding commercial success. First, like most game developers, Blizzard prioritizes creating fun games above all else and, to that end, systematically manages the game’s universe and story from start to finish. A prime example is Chris Metzen, who was Blizzard’s vice president at the time; he oversaw the game’s entire universe and narrative, playing a crucial role in enhancing the story’s quality. This solidly constructed universe was expanded into various forms of content, such as novels and comics, which not only raised the game’s profile but also served as a foundation for creating new added value. In fact, several titles, including ‘World of Warcraft’, were adapted into novels and comics, gaining worldwide popularity.
Another characteristic of Blizzard games is that they are designed to be easy to learn but difficult to master completely. This design lowers the barrier to entry for new players while keeping existing players immersed in the game for a long time. Ultimately, this creates a virtuous cycle in which the influx of new players and the retention of existing ones occur simultaneously, leading to a steady increase in the total player base. Furthermore, the establishment of the Battle.net service—designed to actively support a multiplayer environment that can be enjoyed for years, rather than a single-player experience that ends in a matter of dozens of hours—can be seen as an extension of this philosophy. Thanks to this service infrastructure, Blizzard has been able to consistently release games that remain beloved for a long time.
Blizzard has also maintained a development philosophy that prioritizes polish above all else. There have been repeated instances where, even when a game was nearly complete, Blizzard postponed its release or boldly revised the development direction if test results fell short of expectations. While these decisions sometimes drew criticism from users awaiting the release, the company succeeded in delivering high-quality games by adhering to its principle of never releasing a game that wasn’t sufficiently polished. Even after release, Blizzard has continued to enhance the games’ polish by actively incorporating user feedback through ongoing updates and in-game balance adjustments.
Finally, Blizzard has placed great value on the fact that its developers are gamers themselves. The philosophy of creating games that they themselves would most enjoy playing has long been a cornerstone of Blizzard’s development culture. In fact, at BlizzCon 2011, Mike Morhaime, then co-founder and CEO of Blizzard, stated, “Blizzard’s unwavering goal is to always do our best to create the best games.” This development philosophy can be considered one of the key reasons behind Blizzard’s repeated global success.
So, just as most of the games Blizzard had released up to that point had been successful, could “Diablo III” also succeed in the South Korean market? At the time, it garnered such high interest that the available stock sold out quickly as soon as pre-orders began, and expectations for its success were very high even before its release. In fact, these expectations were realized, and “Diablo III” became a global hit immediately upon release, establishing itself as one of Blizzard’s flagship titles. Therefore, it can be said that the likelihood of success I predicted at the time ultimately materialized to a significant extent. One reason for this was that the previous installments, “Diablo” and “Diablo II,” had achieved tremendous global success and built a loyal fan base. Over the years, the series had accumulated sales of over tens of millions of copies, and this success naturally led to high anticipation for the sequel.
The second reason was that the primary consumer base for boxed games at the time was male gamers. In South Korea at the time, gaming had established itself as an important cultural activity for forming a sense of shared experience and building bonds with friends. In particular, action role-playing games like ‘Diablo’ allowed players to naturally form close bonds while playing cooperatively in parties with others. Furthermore, given the trend-sensitive nature of South Korean gaming culture at the time, once an atmosphere developed where everyone around them was either waiting for or playing ‘Diablo III’, it was highly likely that the number of users naturally starting the game would increase significantly.
The third reason was the anticipation stemming from the long hiatus between sequels. Blizzard was renowned for releasing only titles that had undergone extensive development to ensure a high level of polish. Consequently, many users expected that all the technical expertise and know-how accumulated over more than a decade of development would be concentrated in ‘Diablo III’. It wasn’t simply because it was a new release; the long wait itself further heightened expectations for the game.
The final reason is that the previous titles were released a very long time ago. ‘Warcraft III’ was released in 2002, and ‘StarCraft II’ was released in 2010. In contrast, ‘Diablo II’ was released in 2000, and its sequel arrived more than 10 years later. Many players who enjoyed the game back then had fond memories of playing ‘Diablo II’ during their school days or youth, and they hoped to relive the nostalgia of that era through ‘Diablo III’.
In contrast, “StarCraft” has been played consistently for many years since its release in 1998 and has continued to attract public attention alongside the growth of esports. Therefore, while it did evoke a sense of nostalgia, its nature as a game that has been actively enjoyed over the long term was even more pronounced. In comparison, “Diablo II” dominated an era but naturally saw its player base dwindle over time, eventually becoming a game rarely found even in PC bangs. In fact, it can be argued that this gap in time actually served to stir players’ memories even more strongly, leading to heightened anticipation for a sequel.
Combined with these various factors—along with Blizzard’s long-established development philosophy, technical expertise, and game-making know-how—I predicted that “Diablo III” would become a title that attracts significant attention not only in South Korea but also from gamers around the world. In fact, since its release in 2012, “Diablo III” has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, achieving tremendous commercial success, and has continued to be loved by many players over the years through expansion packs, seasonal events, and ongoing updates. The expectations regarding “Diablo III”’s potential for success at the time ultimately became a reality, and the game has established itself as one of Blizzard’s flagship hits.
