Blizzard prepares for 'Cataclysm'

World of Warcraft maker files trademark application for dramatic disaster term on everything from computer games to greeting cards.

It's safe to assume Blizzard has some big deals on its slate of unannounced projects, but new filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office suggest one of them is particularly dire. Game industry sleuthing site superannuation today unearthed a trio of Blizzard applications filed last Friday, each covering various uses of the word "Cataclysm."

One filing covers the use of the term as it relates to computer games and mouse pads. The second seeks to lock up the name for use in entertainment services (specifically online games), and the third covers a wide range of ancillary uses, including comics, strategy guides, coloring books, stickers, greeting cards, manuals, and art prints.

While the "Cataclysm"--a violent upheaval or tremendous flood--could fit within Blizzard's key franchises like Diablo or Warcraft, it could also be tied up with a fresh property. In May, the developer confirmed that its long-awaited massively multiplayer online role-playing game follow-up to World of Warcraft will be based on a new intellectual property.

While the trademark filings give away the fact that Blizzard has designs for the term, they do little else. It's not uncommon for trademarks to go unrealized, as was the case with previous filings like Activision's Guitar Villain or Blizzard's own Diablo II: Salvation.

When asked for comment, a Blizzard representative told GameSpot, "We appreciate the interest, but we don’t have any details to share at this time."

229 Comments

  • FF_fan2004

    Posted Aug 17, 2009 11:22 am PT

    Diablo II was hard enough, never managed to get past...Tal Rasha's tomb boss. Diablo III looks good. I just hope I can be a necromancer again.

  • inalusi

    Posted Aug 9, 2009 1:35 pm PT

    This is for jweed. Why you need to share your life?first i dont care and second if you have good or bad ,smart or dumb girlfriend is not me problem and i dont care +if you play WOW you are addicted less or more dont lie nerdy )

  • dg3215

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 5:30 pm PT

    If it (cataclysm) is like any of blizzard's other games they will announce it and then take forever to release it, but it will be freakin awesome when it is out. Although I dont do mmo games anymore, because i just dont have the time to invest into one video game. @jweed you know you don't have a girlfriend unless you are talking about the female one you made on wow and that does not count

  • jweed posted Jul 27, 2009 10:50 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    jweed

    Posted Jul 27, 2009 10:50 pm PT (hide)

    its funny cuz i play wow and love it but i guess im not as addicted as these nerds hating on it considering i have a good job and a hot girlfriend and she knows i play but i dont let it consume my life so for all of you. LOLZ

  • Kenuty

    Posted Jul 27, 2009 7:57 am PT

    @nickanguiano, You took the words from my mouth, its the same things I have been saying after I quit. Never again on mmos its such a waste of time and I miss out on other games. Which I now play and do reviews on other than that can't wait for starcraft and diablo 3 though

  • Ca_shadow

    Posted Jul 16, 2009 1:47 pm PT

    @ NickAnguiano Similar thing happened to me. I'll never waste my hard earned money on an MMO again. Cant believe I played for so long.

  • NickAnguiano

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 7:28 pm PT

    WoW was very fun and addicting and I played it for 4 long years before quiting. Do I regret playing it though? Yes, very much so. Rather than sitting on my ass playing WoW for all that time I coulda been focusing on things that actually mattered in my life. I don't care if a new MMO comes out that's the greatest thing and gets 100 million subscribers and everyone says "YOU ARE AN IDIOT IF YOU DON'T TRY THIS GAME!" I will never get sucked into another MMO again. Take it from someone who's learned their lesson kids, it's REALLY not worth it lol.

  • mightycloud

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:14 pm PT

    dg3215

    Posted Jul 10, 2009 12:38 am GMT "This has been going on for years.. Pat Riley has a trade mark on the word threepeat, all it means is that you cannot market the word to make money without paying them a royalty.. calm down"

    That's not the point. It's not like it's a word no-one is going to use like "threepeat". my reasoning is that if they can do it with one word, what's stopping them from trademarking other RPG/fantasy staple words so that other companies and writers can't use them (i.e broadsword, necromancer, or goblin). It's not just games they want the rights for, they want comics, manuals and even colouring books! Colouring Books! because they're a massive money spinner when they target the 3-8 year olds that probably don't even play WoW. (n.b: sarcasm is hard to convey in text)

  • dg3215

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 4:38 pm PT

    mightycloud Posted Jul 7, 2009 10:45 pm GMT Does it not worry anyone else that they're trying to trademark a word? If activision had it their way we'd all have to pay royalties whenever we said the words "Warcraft" or "Guitar Hero". They're not talking about TM'ing an IP, they want exclusive use of a WORD across the board!

    This has been going on for years.. Pat Riley has a trade mark on the word threepeat, all it means is that you cannot market the word to make money without paying them a royalty.. calm down

  • Plucking

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 2:04 pm PT

    one of the only big fantasy genres left that would be fitting for a mmo is post appocalypse... cataclysm kind of fits

  • Spikedjester

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 3:38 pm PT

    dannyatkinson Posted Jul 3, 2009 4:26 pm GMT Blizzard is headed for a Cataclysm all right with no LAN for Starcraft 2 ???? Did they just suddenly get stupid.
    Did no one pay attention to what happened to EA.
    Idiots.

    lol so true, and i forgot this point for the last day. Haha thanks for the reminder! Down with blizzard.

  • mightycloud

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 2:45 pm PT

    Does it not worry anyone else that they're trying to trademark a word? If activision had it their way we'd all have to pay royalties whenever we said the words "Warcraft" or "Guitar Hero". They're not talking about TM'ing an IP, they want exclusive use of a WORD across the board!

  • burn6

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 10:23 pm PT

    maybe it is a rift from the world of warcraft. when you go in, you will find yourself immersed in the world of starcraft where terrans and zerglings are everywhere and just when you thought you have seen it all the protoss will sneak from your behind then whoa, a mothership of carriers will swarm on your screen and scrape the sh*t out of you. hence cataclysm XD.

  • fubbal

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 6:44 pm PT

    Wow this gives me nightmares.I'm not joking either world of war craft was fun for a bit until I realised that everything in the game takes way more time and effort than it should just so you go cash in another game card.If this is yet another MMO,and one like wow count me out. Now I know people will say i'm mising out and I say to those you are missing out on real life.

  • Scullyy

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 3:43 pm PT

    they wouldn't lie about it being a new ip. that's just stupid.

  • Epicurus-Reborn

    Posted Jul 4, 2009 3:08 pm PT

    i think thats way too vague of a report to make any proper speculation on.

  • adecoy95

    Posted Jul 4, 2009 8:01 am PT

    oh crap, they are going to go all rifts on us, a starcraft/diablo/warcraft/rock and roll racing hybrid that will shock and amaze

  • SpareJesus

    Posted Jul 4, 2009 4:12 am PT

    http://www.wowwiki.com/Great_Sundering

    Being that the Cataclysm is actually an event that happened in Warcraft history resulting in the Maelstrom (when the entire continent of Kalimdor was ripped apart, creating the four continents of EK, Northrend, Kalimdor and Kezan), I'm willing to bet that this is simply a move to cover strategy guides, mousepads, and the name, ready for the next expansion. Not anything to do with the new IP/MMO, or whatever.

  • zunit88

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 3:03 pm PT

    i dont know what blizzard is tryin to do but am sure they know what they are doing so am not mad

  • tony2077ca

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 2:28 pm PT

    ghost canceled i thought it was only put on hold

  • bloodyrooster

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 1:25 pm PT

    WOW 2 like everquest 2 when they had something happen to the world (cataclysm) so that they could start anew.

  • dannyatkinson

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 8:26 am PT

    Blizzard is headed for a Cataclysm all right with no LAN for Starcraft 2 ???? Did they just suddenly get stupid.
    Did no one pay attention to what happened to EA.
    Idiots.

  • Riddick123

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 7:50 am PT

    @ chimpanchu 3 new applications? What happen to StarCraft Ghost then?

    Are you serious? That was cancelled years ago.

  • thund3ralch3mis

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 9:10 pm PT

    i think its going to be something that happens in WoW and changes the whole game i think and hope

  • nightvamp5

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 7:22 pm PT

    @ NobleEskimo

    I don't doubt it. My point is not that it costs 15 dollars a month from every subscriber to maintain the game. If that were true, no MMO would be successful unless it was as popular as WOW. My point is there are ongoing expenses and ongoing work, so there should be ongoing profit.

    $15 is a little steep. I think $10 is a little more fair, but all the people crying for no monthly fees are just being unreasonable. Most games once on the market are done and the company can move onto their next venture, outside some occasional bug crunching for glitchy games. WOW and other MMOs are an ongoing project requiring additional work, moderators...

    Using WOWs profits as an example is an extreme case as well, considering it is by far the most successful MMO ever. That would be like comparing the salary of third string quarterback to the starting QB of a Superbowl winning team. The numbers are going to be a little slanted.

    (this is in response to something said a few pages back.)

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 6:12 pm PT

    will this support LAN or it's it a p2p type of thing?

  • Hakud0ushi

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 6:08 pm PT

    Very nice indeed! i cant wait~~

  • cilayin

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 5:43 pm PT

    Oooh I'm excited!

  • okassar

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 5:22 pm PT

    Please be another MMORPG,except this time with amazing graphics and more skills like crafting and stuff

  • tony2077ca

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 5:09 pm PT

    i like how people are all guessing about what this could be i say wait and find out

  • PiNwOrM

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 4:48 pm PT

    @curtdoggLP5 It was sarcasm pointing out how wrong his claim that post-apocalyptic settings being complete failures was.

  • blakeney

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 4:25 pm PT

    @ cyborg100000

    If it is Maelstrom/Cataclysm how do you think they will handle the fact our chars have time travled? ive heard that it could be Maelstrom/Cataclysm before but didnt think to ask at the time. Ive personally still got money firmly on Emerald dream!

  • curtdoggLP5

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 4:16 pm PT

    @PiNwOrM

    Fallout a failure? Wow... You are deluded.

  • chimpanchu

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 4:11 pm PT

    3 new applications? What happen to StarCraft Ghost then?

  • 2611mp

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 4:04 pm PT

    i didnt and dont like wow but im always hoping or another gem like diablo to come from blizzard

  • Diernes

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 3:47 pm PT

    A new property that isnt riding on the popularity of Blizzards earlier successes? Surely not ....

  • Bad_Ass_Dr_Funk

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 3:39 pm PT

    @ Bloodyrooster
    Who says that Wow lore has to end with Sargeras? I'm sure that Blizz can in no way figure out a new major "bad guy" to start a whole new line of lore.

  • dogpigfish

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 3:25 pm PT

    Maybe it's a console game. I wish.

  • SpaceMoose

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 3:14 pm PT

    When did they ever say that their new MMO was a "role playing game"?

  • PiNwOrM

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 2:56 pm PT

    @crimsongeneses Yeah, the post apocalyptic thing never worked out, just look at that complete failure 'fallout'.

  • bloodyrooster

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 2:20 pm PT

    I'll bet money that it's the next wow expansion which has something to do with the well of eternity. We all knew this was coming. I don't think the bad guy is Sargaros because if it is there would be nothing else to beat in wow. Probably gonna see a lot more naga.

  • ZedX-14Pilot

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 1:58 pm PT

    Nice to see we might see a new IP from these guys.

  • MushroomRevenge

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 1:51 pm PT

    @2bitSm0k3y:

    No, they are not adding units online depending on which campaign you buy. If anything they are OMITTING units from online; different campaigns will feature unique single player only units.

  • Legendery_SS94

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 1:12 pm PT

    "We appreciate the interest, but we don’t have any details to share at this time."

    Thats a much more positive comment than any other representative has ever made.

  • pakhair

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 12:34 pm PT

    It sounds Good ...........

  • LinusBlue

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 12:34 pm PT

    Blizzard make something new? Never.

  • Sechu

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 12:17 pm PT

    I wonder if Blizzard is really cooking something new. Anyway, whatever they do is golden.

  • GrimGravy

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 12:12 pm PT

    "The Great Sundering, also known as simply the Sundering or the Cataclysm was a world event which reshaped Azeroth approximately 10,000 years ago at the end of the War of the Ancients. This event was triggered due to the Well of Eternity being destroyed". Straight from WoWwiki prollt malestrom expansion

  • valuum

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 11:09 am PT

    battle.net has and always will be free. Stop pulling your hair out. As for splitting the game into 3 parts, its more like one game with two expansions. I'm sure that if Blizz had worded it as such, the more outspoken (and less stable) of the audience would have nothing to say.

  • SchmeeboDaBear

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 11:00 am PT

    Jesus cyborg100000 knows his WOW stuff, props to you!

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