Friday, 17 December 2010

Blizzard's new MMO gets a name, plus plans for next few years revealed

Blizzard's Chinese office has leaked a production slate showing Blizzard's projects for the next four years. Heads have already rolled at the office over this, and Blizzard have confirmed that the schedule is genuine, although the dates are not set in stone.

Q4 2011
Diablo 3

Q4 2011
StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Swam

Q2 2012
World of WarCraft: Expansion 4

Q1 2013
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Void

Q2 2013
Diablo 3: Expansion 1

Q4 2013
World of WarCraft: Expansion 5

Q4 2013
Titan

Q4 2014
Diablo 3: Expansion 2


The most intriguing title on the list is Titan, Blizzard's new MMO game (though not necessarily an MMORPG). Titan has been in development for a few years already, and if it sticks to its late 2013 release (which it probably won't, this being Blizzard) it will be Blizzard's first original title in more than fifteen years. Blizzard said years ago that their next MMO would be a new franchise not linked to any existing title, so Titan isn't a code word for Worlds of StarCraft or Diablo Online either.

The slate also confirms that Diablo III will have two expansions and that World of WarCraft will have two additional expansions, taking it up to its tenth anniversary. However, it does seem to be extremely optimistic over getting Sam Raimi's planned World of WarCraft movie out in 2013 when the project still seems to be in development hell.
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6 comments:

  1. Mad Hatter Review17 December 2010 at 15:35:00 GMT

    Sweet. Diablo 3 in time for Christmas next year would be perfect.

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  2. Phillip H. Tang17 December 2010 at 17:02:00 GMT

    So sad there does not seem to be a Warcraft 4 coming.

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  3. Adam Whitehead17 December 2010 at 17:15:00 GMT

    If WARCRAFT 4 is the next project of the RTS team once the STARCRAFT 2 expansions are released, I seriously wouldn't expect to see it this side of 2020. It also depends on what happens with WORLD OF WARCRAFT. With WoW an ongoing concern, WC4 would seem to be superfluous story-wise unless it was a prequel or a completely self-contained side-story (i.e. not involving massive end-of-the-world events).

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  4. Anonymous17 December 2010 at 23:09:00 GMT

    I wouldn't discount a World of Starcraft just yet...

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  5. Adam Whitehead18 December 2010 at 11:34:00 GMT

    I wouldn't discount a WORLDS OF STARCRAFT eventually either, just not in the next five years ;-) I could see Blizzard going for it after then, however.

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  6. Jebus20 December 2010 at 00:29:00 GMT

    Is Diablo 3 really not coming out for a whole year!?!? I was expecting it early next year, I had plans to upgrade to a new PC just so I could play it with all the pretty. Guess I can keep saving :)

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