Blizzard freezes non-WOW MMOG rumors

[UPDATE 2] Following a flurry of rumors, the developer-publisher denies Starcraft or Diablo MMOG is in the works; image surfaces purporting to be confusing slide from Vivendi presentation.

Last night, F13.net sent waves through the PC gaming community. Under the headline "Blizzards [sic] says 'EVERYTHING IS AN MMOG,'" the independent game blog ran a story attributed to a Vivendi Games presentation on Wall Street.

According to the story, the French publisher had used the unnamed event to talk up its profitable subsidiary, Blizzard Entertainment, and its number one property, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. According to F13, the Vivendi rep on hand boasted that "All Blizzard franchises will become MMOGs"--meaning Diablo and Starcraft would both eventually go massively multiplayer.

The rep also reportedly said that Vivendi has "a model now to develop an MMOG in three years for $50 million." If true, the report meant that the next Blizzard MMOG could come as early as 2009, even if it hasn't been started yet.

Invoking the name of some of the most popular PC titles of all time understandably set off a firestorm of enthusiasm. That, in turn, launched a wave of subsequent stories in the games press, ranging from skeptical rumor notices to straightfaced news.

Alas for those yearning for a marathon World of Starcraft session, Blizzard moved quickly to quash rumors of any non-WOW MMOGs. "No, that rumor is not true in regard to Blizzard," the company told GameSpot this morning. "We believe that the rumor circulating about this subject is based on a misinterpretation of information provided to industry analysts."

Blizzard also took pains to emphasize it has not become Vivendi's specialty MMOG developer. "We do not currently have any MMO development plans beyond the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, and furthermore, we don't have any intentions to focus on only one genre or platform with our future games," a rep told GameSpot. Indeed, Blizzard's jobs page has listings for both console and PC positions, although none mention any specific new titles by name.

[UPDATE 2] Shortly after this story went live, GameSpot was presented with slides that were allegedly from the Vivendi PowerPoint presentation which started the whole rumor avalanche. While Blizzard had not confirmed their authenticity as of press time, the slides did appear legit--and could, to a non-savvy observer, give the appearance that Diablo and Starcraft MMOs were imminent.

In particular, the final slide shows a chart which listed "Warcraft," "Diablo," and "Starcraft" in three rows. The chart is divided into three columns titled "Massively Multiplayer Online," "PC/MAC," and "Console." Each of the chart's nine cells is either colored Navy Blue and filled with titles, meaning Blizzard had released games from a franchise in a genre, or colored light blue for "potential" and left blank, indicating one of the three series could be extended into the specified genre.

For Warcraft, the graph lists "World of Warcraft" in the "Massively Multiplayer Online" column, and all five Warcraft strategy games under "PC/MAC." All three Diablo titles are listed in the same column, as are StarCraft and its Broodwar expansion. All other fields on the chart--the StarCraft MMOG field, the Diablo MMOG field, and the "console" fields for all three franchises are blank and marked "potential."

To the unfamiliar observer, the chart might give the appearance that StarCraft and Diablo MMOGs are in the works. The comments below it must have likely added to the confusion. "Blizzard's three core franchises were born on PC but are naturally extendable," read the first line under the chart. "We are investing heavily now in developing new executions across multiple franchises," continued the slide, just above a bullet-pointed reminder that the company bought Metal Arms developer Swingin' Ape to be the "center of [its] next-gen console strategy."

The slide wraps up by proclaiming that Blizzard has "put investments in place for numerous future Blizzard products." Then it delivers the ultimate teaser: "Due to long development cycles, for competitive reasons, we do not disclose releases far ahead of street date."

199 Comments

  • miksalud

    Posted Feb 6, 2008 1:53 pm PT

    I'll quote NgpcmasteR: Haha.. If that doesnt work out, id like to be playing diablo III, since i still play diablo 2!

    Hell yeah! We are waiting for a freaking sequel for 8 years! C'mon, i've had it with battle.net and pounding boring monsters all over and all over again... well, almost gief DIABLO 3 (no matter which genre, I'll welcome both MMORPG and standard RPG).

  • KrimsonTwilight

    Posted Dec 10, 2007 7:30 pm PT

    I WANT DIABLO! now! seriously..

  • skunkboy72

    Posted May 20, 2007 7:58 pm PT

    well, you are wrong
    why would they take people away from WoW so soon when that is still making a crap load of money for them

  • razorlution

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 11:18 am PT

    World of Starcraft will be the next MMO game, I guarantee it. We are set to receive one more expansion to the WoW series, and after that they will strive towards something else. Everyone states all this crap about RTS, they dont make the money that MMO makes, and believe me, everyone plays WoW, everyone, lots will deny it though.

    People want a new Starcraft...they will get it, in a MMO form, people wanted more Warcraft, and thus its easier to make an MMO because of the money it offers.

  • Calltheherd

    Posted Mar 13, 2007 1:41 pm PT

    blizzard were the RTS kings, they caues and ended it's heyday.
    Think Starcraft- One of the best games ever made. a perfect showing of blizzard's quality and balance. Then came Warcraft 3. Not as Awesome, but still good. Since Warcraft 3, c&c has been the only option for new stuff.
    MAKE SC2!!

  • NgpcmasteR

    Posted Jan 17, 2007 2:15 pm PT

    Haha.. If that doesnt work out, id like to be playing diablo III, since i still play diablo 2!

  • cjriver

    Posted Jan 3, 2007 4:58 am PT

    Blizzard is now a coporate....

    My suggestion for something really massive is to combine all 3 top tier franchises.

    Call it BattleCraft,Curse of Man. Enter the Starcraft factions, terrans realize a connection between their ongoing struggle with the Protoss and Zerg is somehow tied to an event occuring in their history. The travel back in time and are followed by the zerg and protoss. Damn Kerrigan and her spies.

    All original Warcraft characters are represented as historic factions mutually facing a new menace, and its not the burning legion. Enter the Starcraft interlopers. Additionally Diablo characters will be presented as rogue warriors empowered with powerful skills and abilities, with no allegiance to any one faction. Will the warcraft factions unite or will they struggle individually with these intruders to their realm. Will alliances be made?Lets not forget the forces of hell, Diablo, Baal, Mephisto, and their legions, how will they factor into this strange link into the future. Archons battling Diablo and his brothers, Barbarian warriors united with Paladins battling the the Zerg horde, Orcs facing off against marines and firebats. How this all ends is up to you the player to decide. The ultimate ending is unkown...muhahahahahahhhahahahaha.

    Starcraft 2 sounds nice, Diablo 3......maybe

    Will battlenet still exist.

    Hellgate London(former Blizz team members) also looks interesting

    sigh

    Just my thoughts

  • ICEMAN803

    Posted Nov 7, 2006 9:52 am PT

    It's about time a new Diablo or StarCraft game came out. WarCraft is starting to get really old.

  • Gatekeeper01

    Posted Sep 1, 2006 11:01 am PT

    I agree with Dragon night.. Particularly I like SC the most. It is a great game and I really wish that Blizzard would do something with it.. I don't really like any of the WarCraft games.. And Diablo is pretty cool for an RPG.

  • DragonNight

    Posted Aug 20, 2006 10:00 pm PT

    Wow is boring and a waste of money. Blizzard isnt as cool anymore. They come up with ideas then trash them and theyre lying when they say that they havent been making a wos or any other new sc diablo or wc games of course they are why wouldnt they? warcraft is a boring game, all of them. its a stupid game and unoriginal they really need to consider giving their attention towards starcraft and diablo and stop wasting their time on warcraft! there is 5 warcraft games and 3 diablo and then 2 starcraft games on the pc. starcraft and diablo is soooo much better than warcraft!!!!!!!

  • dino316

    Posted Jul 31, 2006 5:23 pm PT

    I agree. Blizzard is taking a seriously long time in giving us any information for any future sequals to Starcraft or Diablo. If anything this just hurts the companys reputation. Canceling Starraft Ghost really worried me, and i can't really see Blizzard as reliable as they were back in the day.

    Starcraft 2 would be nice if it came out within the next 10 years. Although Blizzard is losing a lot of it's long-time fans because of long delays, and like i said cancelling games, and not informing us of new upcoming games.

  • Redfingers

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:52 pm PT

    I think it's pretty damn obvious even Blizzard doesn't know what it wants to do with itself in the future. It started several different projects, scrapped them, then went hush-hush on the whole deal. Now they're only spouting vague info out of their tight lips.

    What I want is a new franchise that this company pours its heart and soul into. What I don't want is an MMO of anything. Beyond that, I could care less. But MMOs are designed to waste time. That's all. They're not fun to me.

  • mrt103090

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 6:36 pm PT

    I would love for them to finally make a new metal arms game, the last one was amazing, maybe even better then halo

  • unarmedmaster

    Posted Jun 28, 2006 5:28 pm PT

    I honestly think that they should make starcraft 2 or rm starcraft with better graphics and stuff like that

  • ZWcoolkid

    Posted Jun 27, 2006 4:58 pm PT

    You guys honestly haven't heard? Diablo 3 has been out for sometime now, its called "World of Warcraft." Anyways, if they want to make a Starcraft, I feel they had better make it a real-time strategy. Furthermore, they'd better be damned creative with their new races, and have the most balanced game since Starcraft 1, b/c it's pretty hard to have a standout RTS game nowadays. I think they should focus on macro in SC2 like they focused on micro/heroes in WC3.

  • shsgaels43

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:14 pm PT

    very very depressing

  • thesmurf089

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 7:17 am PT

    Id truly love to see a new starcraft game and maybe a new diablo, but i think blizzard should be thinking outside of the box here: such as maybe a MMOstrategy Rpg for starcraft. While this could be incredibly idiotic i think it would be cool to combine MMO leveling and combat mixed with RTS imo.

  • PyscoJuggalo

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 4:52 pm PT

    Wont play WOW, would play WOD, Oh well.

  • silvercineplex

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 10:24 am PT

    too bad...oh well

  • AFFA

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 9:47 am PT

    WOW is a rip $30 Ausi doller a mounth

  • sonictank

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 7:16 am PT

    well i say this sucks for both diablo and starcaft fans i mean now blizzard ruined their hopes of giving them a mmo where they could do stuff online but then again it would prolly be a paid thingy

  • silenthero360

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 4:55 pm PT

    Aww I was looking forward to World of Starcraft, they even had screenshots!!

  • radientlocks

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 2:08 pm PT

    Blizzard has already conquered the mmo market with WOW, they don't need to make any more games along that genre.

  • Merl57

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 7:36 am PT

    crap ok they get none of my money now

  • YazanAK

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 10:19 am PT

    Wish they start makin new RTS Games like Warcraft 4 and Starcraft 2. Then they would attract a lot of gamers.

  • Prosercunus

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 6:58 am PT

    True evil never dies they could "easily" (easily being a relative term" create Diablo III with a clever story. I always loved the Diablo world and the Warcraft world but World of Warcraft is just boring now... sad because I really liked the game until its later months. Anyway heres hoping for D3 sometime in the next 3-4 years.

  • PelekotansDream

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 6:52 am PT

    Glad Diablo will not return, it is a great game both 1 and 2 but with the way the game ended to make another one will mean a ridiculous plot has to be created.

  • acu02151

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 3:12 am PT

    Damn I thought My drunken ass arguing that gamespot would never do something as evil as an april fools joke about World of Starcraft was going to be prooved right. Ach well back to hanging my head in shame.

  • Lordsmash

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 2:39 am PT

    world of starcraft eg WoS only woses play it

    geddit.............
    maybe not

    hazza

  • julian79

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:31 pm PT

    It wil be great to have more on line gaming wolds to play. Especially if they have the infrastructures as WoW. This can be the beginning of something even better

  • Destructort1st

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:03 pm PT

    Ok no more boring old kill monsters and level up mmo games bring starcraft 2 heck allot of people are still playing the original people would go INSANE over another starcraft no matter how good it was just because it was starcraft 2 it could have a -1/10 and still sell 1 million copies.

  • kendaa

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 8:24 pm PT

    Hate to be the one to state this but
    (rant from .... you know)
    here is 4 reasons Y they sould not make more than one MMORPG
    1.large online files cost large amouts of money
    2. have more than 1 mmorpg from a good company will create comp between them selfs
    3. creating a mmorpg from Diablo this would be hard the story line setup from the last 2 games does not alow for a easy trancfer
    4. starcraft would be easier than diablo but then the comp between the sci-fi and the fantasy nerds would get out of hand

  • igl

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:31 pm PT

    > Come on!...Diablo 3 with awesome 3d engine and free bnet would be
    > friggin awesome!!.

    ---> Guild Wars

  • igl

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:29 pm PT

    Vivendi == french-EA

  • quilpie

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 5:59 pm PT

    lets all hope they are working on diablo 3 and saying that if they do make diablo 3 lets hope they stick to the same formual and not ruin a great thing they have going with the diablo games

  • animemog

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 1:57 pm PT

    I'm sick of World of Warcraft.

  • lordoo

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 1:52 pm PT

    diablo is the best game ever,,,we need a diablo 3 now!!! (warcraft 4 would be cool also)

  • aj_102

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 1:38 pm PT

    yeayah !

  • MCCHA

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 1:15 pm PT

    starcraft 2... everyone's dream

  • laifox

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:17 pm PT

    Come on!...Diablo 3 with awesome 3d engine and free bnet would be friggin awesome!!.

  • ace244

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:08 pm PT


    Midnightfalcon9
    "Sure they've got starcraft ghost" that game was cancelled fyi

  • ace244

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:06 pm PT

    its closing in on the 10 year mark, there will be no true starcraft sequel, time to forget about blizzard and move on

  • eljono

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:00 pm PT

    o well . WoW spoiled them. People act like blizzard actually gives a crap what they think. They only make these games to make money. They dont care who wants a new diablo or starcraft. as long as WoW rakes in dough they are satisfied. They are def. a good franchise but now that they've gained so much success, it can only be downhill from now on, unless youre a WOW fan.

  • Midnightfalcon9

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:49 am PT

    Ah well Blizzard are definatly a good company however I'm rather disappointed that after WoW they've forsaken the PC franchise. Sure they've got starcraft ghost coming out but it would be nice to see a continuation of Diablo and Starcraft.

  • correster

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:13 am PT

    WHAT??????

  • kemicon

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:41 am PT

    If you research Diablo 3 on google you can find some interesting things. The industry rumor is that it has been in production for years. Apparently they have scrapped their work and started yet again. From what I've heard Diablo 3 takes place in Heaven and Hell and has some sort of world switching. In other words both these games are probably still in production, when they come out is anyone's guess.

  • groovybob

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:39 am PT

    I think that they will deny any up coming games until well after burning crusades is released and patched to heck.

  • furymonkeyman

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:26 am PT

    OMG... for the last time! That Starcraft MMORPG article on gamespot was a joke. If you look at it closely, you see it has exactly the same interface as the WOW's one, and the players/monsters in the picture are the cut out from the Starcraft Ghost. LOL!

  • t_walk1

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:19 am PT

    Something tells me this was "leaked" to view the potential markets for such products. I.E. would gamers really want the MMO's or would they like to see the games in thier original Starcraft/Diablo formats. Companies have been sitting on these titles for awhile now and they are probably curious about the viability within the different genres

  • Sundart

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:06 am PT

    These fools at Blizzard are going to lose a lot of Starcraft/Diablo fans real quick if they don't come out with something other than stinking WOW.

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