Blizzard Forms New Team to Create Smaller AA Games from Existing IP

Live Posted 6 days ago by Archimtiros

reported by Windows Centralthree-pronged approach

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft Q4 2024 Earning's Report

For us, our investment in gaming fundamentally was to have, I would say, the right portfolio of both what we love about gaming and always have loved about gaming — which is Xbox, and the content for the console, and expand from there so that we have content for everywhere people play games, starting with the PC.
more new products in development than ever beforeDiablo ImmortalWarcraft Rumbleill-fated survival game

"In terms of Blizzard's approach to mobile gaming, many of us over the last few years have shifted from playing primarily desktop to playing many hours on mobile, and we have many of our best developers now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs. Some of them are with external partners, like Diablo: Immortal; many of them are being developed internally only, and we'll have information to share on those in the future. I will say also that we have more new products in development today at Blizzard than we've ever had in our history and our future is very bright."

simultaneously working on three expansionsClassic Season of DiscoveryClassic CataclysmWrath of the Lich King Classic

Windows Central

Sources tell me that Microsoft is keen to explore and experiment finding success out of smaller teams that are also integrated with the larger org, almost Nintendo-style for seamless collaboration. Microsoft and other big publishers are increasingly concerned about the monstrously ballooning costs facing AAA game development, and having studios cross-collaborate more closely is one way Microsoft is exploring reducing costs.
Fireside Chat on Activision's future under Microsoftinterview with the Washington Post

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Comment by dlbert2000Make updates for D2RComment by avatarofshadowjust what we need. Fewer people working on the big games.Comment by ogPepperStarCraft: GhostComment by dokeefe1986That didn't work out well for the people working on the survival game iirc.Comment by Austeresjust what we need. Fewer people working on the big games.Comment by NamemeSomething"...many of us over the last few years have shifted from playing primarily desktop to playing many hours on mobile..."

That explains a lot.Comment by mentorviiWhose shifting to mobile.....? HUH?Comment by allwet66free to play mobile is the only thing that will make it out of this new studio.
Wish in one and &$!% in the other see which fills up first.Comment by MeteorStormWhy would anyone play on mobile over PC given the choice?Comment by njryInb4 the news post of it being cancelled. I give it 2 years.Comment by Miral007We've already had like 4 WoW spinoffs
We've had a Diablo mobile game
We've got 4 or 5 different versions of WoW going at once
We've had remasters/remakes of nearly everything
Please, I'm begging, just stop... focus on 3 or 4 projects and give them full attention. Everything feels neglectedComment by AovaNot surprising. Unfortunate, but not surprising.

Basically this means every IP will get shredded and spat back out as a series of bare bones mobile games, like Diablo Immortal and Diablo 4—where there aren't any worthwhile, achievable rewards in the game itself because it's all in the cash shop.

Fortunately the market is huge, and there will always be new games to take the place of beloved titles once they get gobbled up by the corporate machine and transformed into trashy, low value MTX storefronts.Comment by Bjerkie"we have many of our best developers now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs" please use your best developers on PC games not mobile games :/Comment by Troy2SlickI can't think of a single time in my life where I intentionally set aside time to play a game on my cell phone.

No thanks.Comment by emperorcrawldont care + didnt ask + having fun + being sillyComment by Esarmist"...many of us over the last few years have shifted from playing primarily desktop to playing many hours on mobile..."

That explains a lot.Comment by VelgarnAh yes, more Mobile Games slop.... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZComment by pelaaja0Why would anyone play on mobile over PC given the choice?Comment by TastelikelemonMobile games , thats something that ive never touched since school nor i ever will. I dont knoy why companies even bother developing them. They are mostly oriented for kids , kids which dont have wallets to spend money for games , nor they will perfer to play a mobile game over a PC one. Those games are mostly to kill time when you are away from your PC , as it was once with the "Snake" game on my Nokia 3310 back in school and the moment school ended for the day i was even forgetting mobile games existed , and i doubt its any different for kids today.Comment by AbomGross.

If your best devs are playing mobile over PC then you can expect long time fans to find other homes.

Blizzard was built by and for PC gamers.

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