Fantasy in a parallel world – Blizzard’s new survival game relies on familiar motifs, even if the genre is unfamiliar to the developers. Blizzard Entertainment is working on a new game. The creator of Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft is currently creating the first fresh brand since Overwatch from 2016. The still nameless game belongs to the survival genre – a first for Blizzard.
Update from January 26, 2022: We have supplemented this news with information and tweets from Blizzard employees. In the meantime, you can also read an extensive analysis of the survival game announcement, in which we explain why this genre fits surprisingly well into Blizzard’s plans:
Blizzard’s new survival game: all pictures and info
On its website, the traditional developer shows two first pictures of the survival game in the context of a job advertisement and reveals that you will discover an unknown world in it. The background for the “Unannounced Survival Game” is explicitly not one of the already known series, instead a completely new universe is being created in the Californian studio.
The released images show signs of a modern setting (a bicycle and skyscrapers) as well as fantastic elements (a flying castle). Two youthful-looking figures stand on the threshold between the gray reality and the colorful fantasy world; a portal in the forest provides access to this yet undiscovered universe.
In the second concept drawing, a woman in richly decorated armor, modeled after the skeleton of an animal, bends over magically shimmering footprints in a forest; her look is reminiscent of medieval fantasy games.
AAA survival that is already playable
On Twitter, shortly after the publication of the job advertisement, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has his say. He emphasizes that he has already played the new Blizzard game “many hours” together with the team. The project could therefore already be at an advanced stage:
Blizzard’s Unannounced Survival Game would be the first proper AAA game from a major developer in the genre – so far, apart from Obsidian Entertainment (Grounded), only indie teams have tried their hand at monetizing the trend started by Minecraft.
Leading the development of the survival game is Craig Amai, who has been with Blizzard Entertainment since 2004 and worked on World of Warcraft for years, first as Senior Game Master, then as Senior Game Designer and Lead Quest Designer. The mysterious survival game is Amai’s first project of his own at Blizzard, where he holds the title of Project Lead.
Release and game modes are still a secret
Meanwhile, it is completely open whether Blizzard’s survival game will be an online-only game or if a solo campaign is also planned. However, the artwork, Mike Ybarra’s tweet, and the experience suggest that you’ll be playing with other people at least in co-op mode.
There is no release date yet, but Blizzard’s next game is said to be for PC and consoles. Currently, they are still looking for employees for the project, so there are job ads for the following positions:
ART
- Environment Artist (Associate to Senior)
- Senior Character Artist
- Technical Artist (FX Pipeline)
- VFX Artist (Associate to Senior)
- Senior Character Concept Artist
DESIGN
- Associate Level Designer
- Level Designer
ENGINEERING
- Lead Software Engineer, Engine
- Senior Software Engineer, Audio
- Senior Software Engineer, Server
- Senior Software Engineer, Tools
The announcement comes at a time when scandalous working conditions at Activision Blizzard and reports of sexism at Blizzard Entertainment are on everyone’s lips. In the video discussion, we work through the issues for you:
Will the Blizzard shock finally change anything?
If Blizzard Entertainment’s probably still far-off survival game ever appears, it will probably do so under publisher Microsoft’s banner and in PC Game Pass. After the recently announced purchase of Activision Blizzard, the Diablo studio will also belong to Microsoft in the future. This deal causes divided opinions in the editorial team: Peter creates new hope for Blizzard, Elena, on the other hand, sees it more pessimistically:
What do you think?
Do Blizzard and survival go together? Write us your opinion and tell us what you think Blizzard Entertainment’s new project must offer in order to succeed in the genre.
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