Blizzard has today released a saddening update in regards to the anticipated release of Diablo III, a long awaited sequel in the Diablo franchise, with news of PVP being pushed backed until after release.

Diablo III was to feature arena-based player versus player, however, according to a post by Jay Wilson, sadly that isn't so (at least not right away).

As we’re counting down the days until we’re ready to announce a release date for Diablo III, we’ve come to realise that the PvP game and systems aren’t yet living up to our standards. Today, we wanted to let you know that we’ve made the difficult decision to hold back the PvP Arena system and release it in a patch following the game’s launch. After a lot of consideration and discussion, we ultimately felt that delaying the whole game purely for PvP would just be punishing to everyone who’s waiting to enjoy the campaign and core solo/co-op content, all of which is just about complete.

While it's no doubt a tad frustrating we won't be getting a complete game, it's still uplifting to know we will be getting it soon after, and most likely more polished to Blizzard's standards.

On a somewhat more uplifting note, we can at least expect the game soon with Jay's comments and the presumed cutting of content meaning it's nearly ready for shipping. Rumours of an April release flying around retail stores and discussion boards also helps (or can be taken with the usual Blizzard rumour grain of salt).

What are your thoughts on this recent news? Was PvP a concern for you in a series that has long been about campaign and co-op gaming? You can read the full press release over here, detailing what to expect after release.