Diablo and Warcraft toys on the way thanks to new McFarlane/Blizzard deal

Massive licensing news broke this morning, that McFarlane and Blizzard have signed a deal that’ll being Warcraft and Diablo to retail shelves.

It’s no fantasy

If you’ve been bummed out that McFarlane seems more or less ‘done’ with some of its licenses, strap in. While yes, some brands appear to have been phased out (though there’s been no official word), there are some monster new lines coming up. And given that it’s modern-age McFarlane, that means fans likely have some cool stuff to look forward to.

The nuts and bolts of the news is that the collector-toy company has inked an agreement with none other than Blizzard. And included, specifically, are the Diablo and World of Warcraft (and Warcraft Arclight Rumble) IPs. Given McFarlane’s 7″ scale, and propensity for giant-sized (scaled) figures to it, we might be in for some pretty great figures.

Even better, this deal will bear fruit fast, as McFarlane has also revealed that the first figures will be Diablo-branded, and will be in stores this fall.

McFarlane Toys founder, Todd McFarlane said, “What I try and do within the walls of McFarlane is to find big brands that look super-cool. It’s a fairly simple formula that can be very hard to find, but the talented creators over at Blizzard have been making and designing tons of fun, detailed and visually stunning worlds across their games for decades. And now, my company gets to go play in their sandbox. This should be a hoot! Our goal is to deliver figures to fans of Diablo and Warcraft games that will add value to their enjoyment of playing in those worlds, because when you aren’t playing the games you will be able to look at them on your shelf in 3D form.”

“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Blizzard and to be working with them to bring these iconic game universes to life in a way that only McFarlane Toys can” said Cristy Collins, Vice President of Licensing for McFarlane Toys. “Diablo and Warcraft both have millions of passionate fans and we’re excited to provide another way for them to engage with these brands. This is also a great way to introduce new fans to the games.”

“Blizzard Entertainment has long been known for its iconic worlds filled with unique characters, and we are excited to partner with McFarlane Toys to give gamers everywhere the chance to bring home and showcase some of their favorite game characters through collectible figures,” said Derek Romano, Director of Licensing for Blizzard Entertainment.

McFarlane Toys press release

Stay tuned, there’ll be plenty more to come on this as the summer rolls by.