Blizzard three-year plan includes two World of Warcraft, Starcraft II add-ons

Blizzard Entertainment is notorious for not committing to a release window until it is absolutely sure the game is done. However, the studio remains but one among the Activision Blizzard umbrella, and its corporate partner is expecting Blizzard to release a number of products over the next three years to grow the publisher's top and bottom line.

Speaking at the Citi 2011 Technology Conference today, Activision Blizzard COO Thomas Tippl said that over the next three years, the publisher is expecting six "proven property" releases from Blizzard. These releases include two expansion packs each from World of Warcraft and Starcraft II.

While Blizzard has not indicated any expansion pack plans beyond WOW's Cataclysm, it has been more forthright with its Starcraft II plans. The game's second installment, Heart of the Swarm, focuses on the Zerg faction, and Battle.net project director Greg Canessa indicated it will be available in mid-2012. The series will conclude with Legacy of the Void, which focuses on the Protoss camp.

The remaining two releases pertain to Diablo III. While Blizzard maintains that it hopes to release Diablo III in 2011, Tippl said that the game has not been factored into its earnings report expectations for the calendar year. Tippl also expects that a Diablo III expansion will be available before the end of 2014.

Of course, Tippl's word choice also left the door open for Blizzard to release an as-yet-unproven property in the next three years, namely its newest massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Titan. According to a purportedly leaked, and thus far accurate, release schedule, Blizzard is planning on releasing Titan in fall 2013.

[UPDATE] For its part, Blizzard is maintaining a veil of secrecy on its upcoming lineup. "We haven't made any announcements in regard to plans beyond our current slate," a Blizzard representative told GameSpot. "Currently, we are focused on the next content update for Cataclysm, the upcoming release of Diablo III, and continued development on Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm."