Rumour: Animated Overwatch and Diablo TV adaptations are in the works

We all done tossing coins at mutant sellswords yet? Word on the street is there's an Overwatch animated series and Diablo anime in the pipeline over at ActiBlizzion HQ. Look, there's a rumour about a game series floating about every other month (what's up, Halo?), so take all this with a pinch of salt. But if this one's true? Then yeah, I can see those franchises working on the telly.

'Course, I also liked the Warcraft movie, so what the hell do I know?

The rumour stems from the LinkedIn page of Activision Blizzard film and television division president Nick van Dyk (via Gamespot). Importantly, van Dyk's listing may hold water. His job description cites his work on the Skylanders Academy Netflix series (which definitely exists) alongside mentions of Diablo and Overwatch adaptations (which are as-yet unconfirmed).

Van Dyke notes that he acted as executive producer on a Diablo series, one noted to be "rendered in anime style" and allegedly in pre-production stages for global distribution via Netflix. Rumours regarding a Diablo adaptation have also been circulating since at least 2018, supposedly under the direction of Hellboy (the recent, forgettable one) writer Andrew Cosby.

There's less to go on for the animated Overwatch series, however. Van Dyk simply notes that he "developed and sold" an adaptation alongside an unnamed creative partner. It does feel more ripe for a cartoon, mind. Blizzard have been putting out Pixar-quality shorts since day 1, hitting a particularly "Marvel flick" tone of superhero banter. Would I, personally, watch it? Almost certainly not.

Diablo, on the other hand, could be anything. The seminal dungeon crawler has its moments of high-concept lore shenanigans, but it's always really been about the nitty-gritty of ploughing axes into demon skulls. It might end up like Castlevania, a Netflix anime folk tell me is quite good. I'd rather see something more low-key myself, wordlessly following a party of travellers as they descend the underworld, fussing over every sword popping out of a skeleton's ribcage.

Of course, van Dyk also raises his work developing the Call of Duty "cinematic and television universe". However, just this weekend director Stefano Sollima - who was on track to direct the first Call of Duty movie - told Italian website Badtaste that the project is currently on hold.

Even if we assume Overwatch and Diablo shows are in the pipeline, there's no guarantee they'd hit the small screen anytime soon.