Blizzard prepping 'next-gen MMO,' Starcraft 2?

What we heard: Barely a month goes by without some sort of speculation--and the occasional prank--raising the prospect of Blizzard Entertainment's next project. One of the most common rumors has the cash-flush Vivendi subsidiary working on a console version of World of Warcraft, its wildly popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game. That theory got a boost this week, when Blizzard posted job listings for a lead technical artist, lead tools programmer, and lead engine programmer for a "next-gen MMO."

"Blizzard Entertainment is looking for an individual to lead an engine-programming team focused on next-generation massively multiplayer online games," read one of the job descriptions. "The ideal candidate will possess outstanding communication and coordination skills and be capable of...[helping in the] design and creation of a next-generation engine."

As if the mention of a new Blizzard MMOG wasn't enough, this week also saw rumors spread that the publisher-developer is resurrecting one of its classic real-time strategy series. According to a Korean newsletter partially translated by Teamliquid.net, "StarCraft 2 will be revealed for the first time to the world at Blizzard's World Wide Invitational (WWI)." According to the letter, Blizzard will also use the event, which takes place in Seoul, South Korea, on May 19 and 20, to show off the game, which reportedly has full 3D graphics, a revamped combat system, and a new race.

The official story: In an unusual turn of events, Blizzard freely admits that it will announce a new game at the WWI in Korea, where Starcraft's popularity is at near-fanatical levels. "We do intend to announce a new product at the Worldwide Invitational next month in Korea, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and interest in getting an advance look at what that will be," a rep told GameSpot.

Unsurprisingly, though, Blizzard's publicity minion became tight-lipped about the new game. "We can't give any further details regarding the product announcement at WWI," the rep said. "Everyone will have to wait until the event to find out the news."

The Blizzard rep was even less chatty when it came to the subject of the next-gen MMOG. "Blizzard has a number of unannounced projects in the works, but we're not prepared to make any announcements about them at this time," was all he would say.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that a new Blizzard game will be announced in just over three weeks. (Mark your calendars!) Bogus that it's been officially confirmed as Starcraft 2. "We have a very strong connection with the characters and settings of StarCraft, and we do plan to revisit that universe at some point in the future, but we don't have anything new to announce in that regard at present," said the Blizzard rep.

As for the next-gen MMOG, the job listings prove that it is not bogus. However, the fact that none of the listings mention any platform means that the game could be a "next-gen" PC MMORPG, not a next-gen console title. This seems the more likely scenario, given that Blizzard reassigned much of its console team to focus on PC projects last August.