Blizzcon 2008 has just been announced. For those interested to attend, it will be on Oct 10 and 11th at the Anaheim Convention center in California. The price for a ticket is $100.

Part of the lure for going to BlizzCon 2008 is the beta keys that you get which can get you into Starcraft 2 or another future Blizzard release.

So should we expect Diablo 3? There’s a ton of people on different game sites that argue (with passion) that the time has come for a Diablo 3 announcement. They bring up the job postings on Blizzard’s site, they talk about the next-gen MMO that’s currently in the works.

Don’t get me wrong, my hopes are high as well. And there’s my skeptical side that says … just look at the way Blizzard listed the franchises in their press release:

BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment®’s Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises.

Notice how Diablo has permanently moved to the back of queue. Hope this is all part of a plan to cover up what they’re doing, so they can surprise us!

Here’s a few bits and pieces from the interview which I found … revealing:

• Diablo movie – when talking about WoW, The Movie, Paul said “we would LOVE to bring certain of the other franchise to the big screen”. So if the WoW movie comes out strong and Legendary Pictures live up to the challenge, I think we can have a Diablo movie (in our life time yeah!)
• Diablo 3 – “It is definitely a very important franchise to us,” said Paul. The bad news – they are so focused on WoW, they are probably not “returning” to it soon.

So don’t get your hopes high for now. Or rather, get your hopes high but patience will still be key!

Gamasutra has an interview with Frank Pearce, founding member and senior vice president of product development for Blizzard.

Here a bit from the interview:

“Our global headcount is 2,700,” said Pearce, “And most of that is customer service for World of Warcraft! In terms of development staff it’s probably around 350. World of Warcraft is about 135 people, 40 for Starcraft II, 40 for team 3, our cinematics team is about 85 guys. Then there’s sound and Q/A and that sort of thing.”

When pressed for details regarding the new project, Pearce was cagey. “Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can’t give you any hints, but it’s totally awesome.”

All attempts to extract additional information were understandably met with looks of shock and horror from Blizzard’s director of global public relations, who also attended the meeting.

With Blizzcon just a few weeks away, I wonder if Blizzard are warming up to a formal announcement of this mysterious third project.

There’s less than half of the tickets remaining. While you’re at it, you might want to stockpile – keep in mind that up to 5 tickets per billing address are allowed.

Will Diablo 3 be announced at Blizzcon? There have been plenty of rumors lately but no one knows for certain. This is the official announcement from Blizzard:

BlizzCon is a celebration of the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises and the players who have helped make them so popular around the world. Gamers from all over the world come together to enjoy many fun activities and to learn more about Blizzard’s products. Don’t miss out on this amazing event!

One of the reasons a ticket could be worth it, is that it will allow you to take part in a beta of a Blizzard game. There’s little doubt that’s going to be the Starcraft 2 beta which is rumored to start before the end of 2007.

UPDATE: All Blizzcon tickets have been SOLD. I hope you’ve managed to get one. If not, stay strong, we’ll be covering the event!