By Jeff Bond on August 13, 2013 at 4:31pm
When Blizzard registered a trademark for the name "The Dark Below" today, it unleashed a tidal wave of rumors and speculation from excited gamers about which long-standing IP the title is intended for. Although there are no official statements from Blizzard yet, "The Dark Below" is so far assumed to be an expansion pack for either "Diablo 3" or "World of Warcraft".
The first thing we need to address is the rumor that this is the name of a new "Diablo 3" expansion. We don't think it is.
Generally speaking, trademarks are filed a few months in advance. This is a fresh trademark registration. Blizzard left themselves only a few days if they were planning to announce the "D3" expansion at Gamescom. Trademarking it now it would be a risky move, especially considering they would need to have prepared materials weeks ago.
Although they said they would be making an announcement at Gamescon, just remember that the last time they said they were making a "Diablo" announcement, it was the console edition. It would seem odd to announce an expansion for a game that hasn't even reached all of the available platforms yet.
Timeframe
Blizzard trademarked "Mists of Pandaria" on July 28, 2011, which was then released Sept. 25, 2012 - 14 months later.
Blizzard trademarked "Cataclysm" on July, 1 2009. which was then released Dec. 7, 2010 - 17 months later.
Blizzard trademarked "Wrath of the Lich King" on July, 28, 2007, which was then released on Nov. 13, 2008 - 15.5 months later.
Blizzard trademarked "The Burning Crusade" May 3, 2005, which was then released on Jan. 16, 2007 - 20.5 months later
Assuming they follow the same pattern, a registration sometime around late July seems to fit the bill pretty nicely. "Mists of Pandaria" was also trademarked approximately 10 weeks prior to Blizzcon, and this new registration is approximately 11 weeks away from the upcoming Blizzcon convention this November.
It is also a different kind of registration than the one filed for "Hearthstone." Blizzard registered for "Hearthstone" overseas in an attempt to hide it, and they then filed a 44(d) filing to get the rights to it in the United States. This type of registration is a 1(b), the same type they used when preparing for previous expansions.
Prior in-game references to "The Dark Below"
In "Warcraft I," and to a lesser extent "Warcraft II" and "Warcraft III," as well as in the novels (specifically "Day of the Dragon," the term "Dark Below" is used.
Ra-Den hinted of a dark chasm at the bottom of an abyss:
Wait! I am... I am not your enemy. You are powerful, more powerful than he was, even... perhaps you are right. Perhaps there is still hope.
But there is a yawning chasm of darkness beneath you mortals, vast, endless, and all consuming. I do not believe that you can correct this doomed course.
But you have earned the right to try. Farewell.
The boss in the Cataclysm Dungeon "Throne of Tides," Lady Naz'jar actually mentions something similar during her encounter:
Destroy these intruders! Leave them for the great dark beyond!
Dark Below is also a known location in the "Warcraft" RPG universe. However, because it's a part of the RPG, it is not generally considered cannon. - WoW Wiki - Battle.net Forums
In "WoW," we even fought the giant squid in Throne of Tides who kidnaps Neptulon and Ozumat and bears the title "Fiend of the Dark Below" - WoW Wiki - WoW Head
But there is a yawning chasm of darkness beneath you mortals, vast, endless, and all consuming. I do not believe that you can correct this doomed course.
Assuming all this is true, what would the story line be?
There is plenty of speculation, and it's difficult to weed out the trolls and misinformation from what we actually know. If you followed the Wrathion storyline, it's strongly implied there's still a fair amount of time before the Legion arrives, and Wrathion intends to use that time to try to prepare Azeroth. This would most likely rule out the theory of it being "Burning Legion" expansion.
The title suggests Old Gods and Abyssal Maw. All the Old Gods were buried, and "darkness" beneath the land has been referenced many times when talking about them. Considering Ozumat's name, the expansion probably revolves more specifically around N'Zoth. We'll see if more Old Gods appear, but Player Theory believes the main villains will be Azshara, Neptulon, and N'Zoth. I can see Azshara being the last boss in the patch before the final raid or the second to last boss of the final raid, possibly ending with N'Zoth. N'Zoth is also linked to the Emerald Nightmare, so it is possible the next expansion will even include some Emerald Dream content that's been sifted through the rumor mill for years.
Something that happens with Azshara and/or N'Zoth will probably alert the Legion to our location, triggering the following expansion focusing on The Burning Legion and Sargeras.
So where does this leave us?
Right now, nowhere. At this point in time, everything you read, including this article, should be treated as speculation and rumors until we find out more, most likely at this year's upcoming Blizzcon in November.
MMO-Chamion
