A couple of days ago, through the voice of CEO Mike
Morhaime, Blizzard made a major, somewhat surprising yet quite expected
announcement regarding the fate of their Project Titan, a would-be next-gen
MMORPG that had been in development for 7 whole years.
After all that time spent on the game and after all
the money that had been pushed into it, Blizzard have decided to drop the
project, proving once again that they’re indeed the industry-leading
organization, because – let’s not kid anyone – pulling the plug on something
like Project Titan is a major proof of strength indeed.
According to Morhaime, the game – which was set to be
more ambitious than anything preceding it, and which was aiming to build on
World of Warcraft to accomplish feats never seen in gaming before – simply did
not come together. The team tasked with the project undertook a re-evaluation,
at the end of which they decided the game was not what they really wanted to
make.
Above and beyond Morhaime’s explanations though, the
cancelling of the game does indeed make sense from just about every angle.
Doubtlessly intended as a replacement for WOW when the
workhorse MMO of the developer inevitably kicked the bucket, Project Titan was
made redundant by the unexpectedly massive lifespan of the world most
profitable MMORPG. WOW refused to kick the bucket. It simply kept on ticking,
and 10 years after its release, it’s still generating massive profits for the
company, its lease on life prolonged time and again by the inspired and
successful expansion packs.
By releasing a new MMO, Blizzard would not only end up
cannibalizing WOW’s success, it would run the risk of falling flat on its face
with what was planned to be an entirely new and revolutionary approach to the
genre.
Its MMO front covered, the company has lately begun
branching out into the MOBA genre with its Heroes of the Storm and its
Hearthstone has seen considerable success, having effectively re-invented the
card-battling genre.
The bottom line: a new MMO simply does not fit into
the picture, and if anyone, Blizzard certainly know when they do not have a
winner on their hands.
Philip Thalberg works for Gosugamers, the world’s top eSports news/reports/insider views destination.
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