Blizzard have trademarked the name The Dark Below for the title of an upcoming project. The description of the trademark is vague enough that we can’t say for sure it’s a full game or an expansion but most likely it is the name of an expansion for either Diablo 3 or World of Warcraft.
If I were allowed to put money on it I’d say this were the name of the first expansion for Diablo 3. Unfortunately, Tim’s banned me from gambling since the Eve Fanfest poker tournament.
The Dark Below sounds like a much more appropriate name for a Diablo expansion. It is all about delving deeper into dungeons and the World of Warcraft expansions are all named after the culture or event you’ll be battling through. The Dark Below is more ominous and less descriptive.
There is a mention of The Dark Below in World of Warcraft lore that could undermine any hope of it being a Diablo expansion. The final boss of the Throne of Tides dungeon in Cataclysm is called Ozumat, Fiend of the Dark Below.
There is a chance it is nothing to do with either game. The trademark makes clear it is for some form of game but it isn’t explicit as to whether it is an expansion or a full new title.
We will likely learn what it pertains to next week at GamesCom.