After devoting two years in developing another instalment in the franchise, Blizzard decided to drop Starcraft FPS. In a statement, Blizzard ditched those StarCraft plans to spend more resources to Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. Codenamed “Ares,” they billed this StarCraft project as “Battlefield in the StarCraft universe.”
When reached for comment, Blizzard announced their people are working on several ideas and multiple projects at the moment. So there is always the possibility of not moving forward on one while pushing out the other. As such, the company does not generally comment on unannounced projects so as not to add pressure to development teams. Blizzard also said announcing ahead creates an added distraction for their organisations. Disappointments and frustrations can happen along the way as ideas don’t go as planned. But unannounced projects are less painful even when shelved. With that said, the company looks forward to revealing other exciting things when the time is right.
StarCraft FPS in the Backseat
In February 2020, news came out that Gears of War top honcho Rod Fergusson will join Blizzard. The game development veteran will head the Diablo project, which is very telling on one thing. Expect a lot of shifts at this Blizzard development team. Nicknamed “The Fixer” and “The Closer,” Fergusson made a name for himself as the go-to guy for finishing ventures. This man runs a tight ship and delivers projects on time. Most notably, he pushed BioShock Infinite to the finish line, overcoming years of drag and development hell. And not only finished it but he shaped the product to become a well-received one by the general public.
Diablo 4 Development
With Fergusson at the helm, there are talks that Diablo 4 may arrive on the store shelves this 2020. The game was in development at Blizzard’s game studio in Irvine, California. However, there are news reports that Blizzard is shifting its people onto other projects, which includes Diablo 4. So you can expect it to cross the finish line earlier than expected.
“We’re constantly changing and evolving not only our games but how we support and grow them,” Blizzard president J. Allen Brack said. “Over the past several years, the work of evaluating our development processes and making hard decisions has led to new games and other products that we’re proud of,” he added. “We now have more live games and unannounced projects than at any point in the company’s history.”
Overwatch 2 Development
For Blizzard, its priority is to deliver more projects. So in addition to Diablo 4, the company is also setting its eyes on an Overwatch 2 release.
Five years after the company announced its release at Blizz Con 2014, Blizzard introduced the sequel at Blizz Con 2019. Overwatch 2 will pull you back into the universe’s story. Plus, new characters and a revamped look is what you can expect in this next chapter.
Blizzard Goes Mobile
What’s a better way to release its new games than to expand to other platforms? While Blizzard started as a PC-focused game developer, it is setting its eyes on mobile gaming. And Diablo: Immortal may be just the tip of the iceberg. More is the key; this is the target for Blizzard. So the question remains, will it be able to keep up with its gameplay quality? Can its development teams handle the increasing output while maintaining optimum performance? All these and more remains to get seen.
