In yet another “no kidding” news item, Blizzard is working on some new MMO says Paul Sams, Blizzard COO, in an interview with videogaming247. This new MMO is going to be “cool, new, different,” he says but doesn’t give any details into it except that it’s not going to be easy.
With Lich King arriving, gamers should be looking forward to a few more strong years with World of Warcraft. Considering Blizzard’s ability to kick out a new expansion every year or so, we’ll know the new MMO will be launching because their expansion road map will go dry.
Much like Apple “dries the channel” when a new device is arriving, allowing stores to post their “sold out” signs, Blizzard will probably invest heavily in their new MMO and allow WoW to die down when they’re ready to make a transition. Or, will they?
Is there any advantage in leaving World of Warcraft as the clear contender if Blizzard is to hype a new MMO style game? Perhaps, if the game is in a completely different genre it might be possible, but some folks will no doubt cancel their Warcraft subscriptions to try out Blizzards next big thing. They’ve said nothing as to the property they’d be driving their next MMO to market with… will it be Diablo or perhaps a Starcraft MMO or something truly “new” and something really “different.”
If anyone in the market today is to begin development of a new MMO, it would seem Blizzard is going to be the most suited to developing another successful venture into this space. They have learned a lot over the years and can apply that knowledge to their next “different” online gaming franchise.
Watch out startups, Blizzard may be working on something even better than World of Warcraft.
Now that Blizzard feels their engine is solid, it’s time to move on to creating content for the full game. Jay Wilson, Diablo 3‘s lead designer, says the game engine is in an advance stage of completion and much of the art team has moved onto Act 2. Don’t read into that, he said game engine.