Activision expects Overwatch to be Blizzard's biggest launch since Diablo III

Activision COO, Thomas Tippl, is expecting Overwatch to be Blizzard's biggest launch since Diablo III , which sold over 12 million copies in its first year.

Tippl laid out his expectations during the company's recent earnings call, and is also optimistic that Overwatch can emerge as a major player in the world of eSports.

"We expect Overwatch to be Blizzard's biggest launch since Diablo in 2012. We also believe Overwatch will resonate well in eSports, which provides yet another vector for audience expansion," explained Tippl.

"In fact, eSports is not only a driver of audience expansion, but also importantly drives growth in terms of time spent with our franchises."

Diablo III , the long-awaited third entry in Blizzard's action RPG franchise, landed in May 2012, and has to date sold over 30 million copies worldwide - 3.5 million of which were shifted within 24 hours of launch.

In the four years since Diablo III hit shelves, Blizzard has launched a number of high-profile expansion packs, including World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm , along with full releases such as Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm .

Overwatch , currently in open beta, is due to release later this month on May 24.