October 1st 2024.
The headquarters of Blizzard have been the talk of the town lately, with new revelations about cancelled games and the unlikelihood of a Warcraft 4 release. Gaming enthusiasts and industry insiders have been buzzing with excitement as details about Activision Blizzard continue to pour out, thanks to Jason Schreier's upcoming book about the company.
One of the most intriguing pieces of information that Schreier recently shared is the existence of a StarCraft shooter in the works. He also shed light on the ambitious plans of former CEO Bobby Kotick, who had hoped for a new Guitar Hero launch every month. But that's not all – Schreier went on to reveal a long list of cancelled Blizzard games, including a Call Of Duty real-time strategy title and a Star Wars project that eventually evolved into StarCraft.
But perhaps the most interesting revelation was about a cancelled project that was in development for two years. It was essentially Minecraft set in the Warcraft universe, and Schreier described it as "incredibly fun to play." Unfortunately, it was axed in 2015, leaving many fans wondering what could have been.
In a recent interview with YouTube channel MinnMax, Schreier shared more details about the cancelled games while giving his insight on why they never saw the light of day. He also mentioned an opportunity for Blizzard to work on a Star Wars game, but the CEO of LucasArts denied ever discussing it. Schreier also revealed that the company had considered a Warcraft 3 sequel, but the lack of interest from executives hindered its development.
The list of cancelled games grew to a total of 17, including a Starblo (sci-fi Diablo), Nomad (post-apocalyptic turn-based game), and even a Warcraft Pokemon GO called Orbit. Schreier also mentioned a previously unknown game called Avalon, which blended Warcraft and Minecraft together.
But the most infamous of all cancelled Blizzard games is Titan, a massively multiplayer online project that was meant to rival World of Warcraft. Schreier shared that it would have been a unique gaming experience, with elements of The Sims and Animal Crossing during the day and crime-fighting as a superhero at night. However, after six or seven years of development and $80 million spent, the project was ultimately scrapped, resulting in a huge loss for the company.
While 17 cancelled games may seem like a lot, it's not uncommon for a company as big as Blizzard to have projects that never make it to release. In fact, it's a common occurrence in the gaming industry as a whole. But for fans of the Warcraft franchise, the question remains – will there ever be a Warcraft 4? Schreier believes it's unlikely, as the executives have lost faith in the real-time strategy genre. However, he holds out hope that a small team may work on a new RTS game under Xbox and release it on Game Pass.
As the gaming community eagerly awaits more information about these cancelled games, one can't help but wonder what could have been. But as Schreier puts it, "for the industry as a whole, far more games are cancelled than are ever released." And for now, all we can do is continue to enjoy the games that do make it to our screens.
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