GamesRPGIcewind DaleFallout New Vegas director’s first D&D RPG launched on the same day as Diablo 2, “which sounds like it would be catastrophically bad,” but it ended up helping it insteadWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGIcewind DaleFallout New Vegas director’s first D&D RPG launched on the same day as Diablo 2, “which sounds like it would be catastrophically bad,” but it ended up helping it insteadWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Beamdog / Black Isle Studios)
According to Wikipedia, Diablo 2 launched on June 28 while Icewind Dale launched a day later on June 29, but the sentiment still stands that the two games launched very, very closely to one another. And in an interview withEdge Magazine, Sawyer acknowledged the perception that an RPG like Icewind Dale from a relatively small studio (at the time) launching at the same time as a juggernaut sequel like Diablo 2 would not be good for the former’s sales.
“Icewind Dale launched on the same day as Diablo 2, which sounds like it would be catastrophically bad, but it actually did pretty well,” Sawyer said, suggesting quite the opposite: that the timing actually benefitted Icewind Dale. “There were lines and lines of people to get Diablo 2, but a lot of them were into fantasy and isometric games, so they were like, ‘Icewind Dale - what’s this? Yeah, we’ll pick that up too.”
These days,video game release datesare shuffled around frequently to avoid clashing with other launches. Probably the most high-profile example I can think of in recent memory isLarian moving around Baldur’s Gate 3’s release plans to avoid clashing with Starfield. Last year,THQ Nordic delayed survival horror game Alone in the Dark out of 2023 entirely because there were “too many amazing games” launching that year, and boy, ain’t that the truth.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”