The development and release of Diablo III happened without Blizzard North, because at that time Blizzard North no longer existed. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you know all of this. What you may not know is that Blizzard North was actually working on a sequel to Diablo II before it was no longer a thing, and that version looked very different from the version we actually got, something you can see on the personal ArtStation page of artist Oscar Cuesta.
Cuesta, who was working at the studio at the time, uploaded four galleries showing early art for the game last year that managed to go unnoticed until now; the galleries show off a Tristam Dungeon, Winterstone, a spire, and a skyway tower. Of particular note is the aesthetic, which was heavily muted and desaturated (a far cry from the sharp color contrasts of the actual game). It’s certainly an interesting glimpse at the look of a game that never released, and it offers space to speculate about the game that was originally in the works.
