[[Image:D3-title.jpg|thumb|300px|Diablo III title image.]]On June 28, 2008, Blizzard officially announced ''Diablo III'', in Paris, at their World Wide Invitational exhibition. Prior to that announcement, ''Diablo III'' had existed only in rumors -- more than eight years of rumors that were so powerful the hypothetical game had taken on an almost mythical status. While this was the first official acknowledgment of the game, careful observers were in near-unanimous agreement that development of ''Diablo III'' had begun at Blizzard north in the early 2000s, and continued at Blizzard Irvine following the closing of Blizzard North in late 2005.