This is my opinion specifically in regards to the following artbook pages from the book that is being released after BlizzCon (image from Wowhead):
That also includes the missing digital pages (including the above) from the preview copy that Wowhead received from Blizzard.
Normally, Blizzard’s marketing has done these slowly unraveling teaser reveals. D4 however is what I would say in a pickle (given how the hiring began way back in 2015 and where more recent job postings earlier this year, were of positions that were indicative of a game that was heading into production). Blizzard last year denied they had pulled a D4 announcement at the last moment which just didn’t jive with the hall setup, the whole “forges are burning hot with multiple Diablo projects in the works” statement by the community manager in August 2018, the fact that Diablo had the main stage after the keynote, and the eventual pre-empting of any major Diablo announcement just a few short weeks before BlizzCon 2018. All of it just seemed to point to a last minute decision of pulling back on whatever they had originally planned for a D4 reveal/teaser.
Blizzard however has been under pressure over this last year (negative reaction after last years BlizzCon, the layoffs, the shake ups in their eSports division, the recent fiasco with blitzchung). They need several major “wins” this year and they are fully cognizant about how neglected Diablo fans have felt over the last several years (only to have a mobile Diablo thrown into their face last year).
The above “leaks” aren’t accidental leaks IMHO. It at least to me, reeks of a well coordinated PR campaign to give it that air of appearance. But it also isn’t the usual way that Blizzard has slowly teased out an actual reveal. Book publications have a logistical lead time (and while a publisher can stop the presses so to speak and pull it for revision, the above is at least 2-3 months of lead time to print since there is also a supply chain lead time to ship to retail distribution centers at least several weeks prior to when it actually goes on sale).
Blizzard’s leadership also realizes the high level of skepticism given the many false starts at least since BlizzCon 2017 (not to mention the souring of Blizzard Entertainment over the past year). Furthermore, they may not be ready for actual specific details like demonstration game play. The company is under pressure to deliver revenue generators heading into 2020 though so they really don’t have much of a choice to confirm Diablo “IV” in some form at this years BlizzCon. If they did scrap several designs and switched recently (in 2018) to something that is a hybrid (partially open world) design, that would explain why it was seemingly pulled last year.
I’m not exactly hyped since I really did feel that a teaser was meant to be done last year. I do expect more of a reveal of the game (in similar fashion to how D3 was revealed at the 2008 Worldwide Invirtational) at BlizzCon 2019 but not full on specific details (that is what the months following BlizzCon is going to be). The classic team may also be finally ready to integrate Diablo II into the Battle.net launcher (whether or not they are ready to confirm a remaster is really going to depend if they have been able to deal with some of the complex technical issues given how some of the design used various slight of hand techniques which David Brevik provided insight about).
