During today’s Activision/Blizzard conference call, Mike Morhaime announced that the developers were targeting the Diablo 3 Beta for testing during Q3 2011. They did not give any more details about when the test will begin or when we’ll hear more information about it. Quarter 3 begins in July, 2011.

Mike also said that they began internal company-wide testing last week, and the game is looking great. They are working hard to launch the game this year, but they do not have an official release date/window yet. They will not compromise quality of the game to hit a release window. Here’s his exact (brief) quote about Diablo III, courtesy of the Seeking Alpha transcript.

On the Diablo III front, I am pleased to report that we begun internal company-wide testing last week. The game is looking great and we are currently targeting a Q3 launch for external beta testing. The development team is working hard to try and launch Diablo III this year. But I want to be clear that we do not have an official release date or window yet. As always, we will not compromise the quality of the game in order to hit a window.

There was some confusion about when Q3 began (in terms of calendar vs. fiscal quarters). Bashiok clarified:

The third quarter reference in the earnings call today was a calendar quarter, meaning that we’re aiming to launch the Diablo III beta between July 1st and September 30th. Keep in mind that it’s our current goal, and of course that can change as development continues.