Activision Blizzard recently wrapped up its quarterly earnings call, a call tense with awareness of the organization’s ongoing lawsuit tied to gender discrimination. But Activision Blizzard tried to cut the tension by teasing some previously unannounced projects within theWarcraftuniverse. They won’t include a new MMO or another reboot ofWarcraft 3, however. Rather, Activision Blizzard says that the two new games are being developed for mobile devices.
Unfortunately, little other information was provided regarding these twoWarcraftmobile games. All that was shared beyond their confirmation was that they’re at different stages of development. As for how the two games were characterized, Activision Blizzard mentioned internal testing regarding encouraging players to check out classic games as well as introducing new experiences to classic franchises. It’s unclear if these ideas are directly related to eitherWarcraftmobile game.
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Warcraftobviously has a long history at Blizzard. BeforeWorld of Warcraft’s incredible success, Blizzard created a trilogy of real-time strategy games that helped define the genre. It’s possible that Blizzard could be working to bring theseclassic RTS titlesto mobile in some way, thoughWarcraftfans are likely to be nervous about that given what Blizzard did withWarcraft: Reforged. As for a newWarcraftexperience, there are a variety of ways a new mobile game could spin out of either theWarcrafttrilogy orWorld of Warcraft.
Needless to say, it’s unclear if Activision Blizzard’s confirmation of two newWarcraftmobile games will be positively received within theWarcraftfandom. It conjures memories of Blizzard’s announcement ofDiablo Immortal, which didn’t go over well with an audience wanting news about new PC-focusedDiablogames.Warcraftfans are in a similar position to howDiablofans were then, hoping for Blizzard to move the main franchise forward in exciting ways. Mobile games may come across as insulting to those fans.
Activision Blizzard did confirm that it had at least oneotherWarcraft-related projectin development alongside these two mobile games. It’s not a surprise, however.World ofWarcraftwill receive a new expansion within the next 18 months, according to the report. That keeps to Blizzard’s cadence forWorld of Warcraftexpansion releases.
Clearly, Blizzard is currently in a challenging position. Fans are frustrated not just with Blizzard’s games but with reports regardinggender discriminationat the company going back years. A shift in direction for the company is what players want, but a shift toward mobile games at Activision’s insistence isn’t likely what fans had in mind. Regardless, that’s the direction Blizzard appears to be going.
