Ex-Blizzard Devs Partner With Ex-Blizzard CEO For New RTS Game, Will Use Unreal Engine 5

Frost Giant Studios, a small indie team headed up by ex-Blizzard employees aiming to make the next great real-time strategy game, will be partnering with Dreamhaven, a game company founded by ex-Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime.

Tim Campbell, who worked as the lead campaign designer for Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, is Frost Giant's president and will serve as director on the studio's first game. The game will use Unreal Engine 5, which was just released into early access. Tim Morten, whose work includes serving as production director on Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void and director of product development for Command & Conquer, is Frost Giant's CEO and will serve as production developer on the new, still unnamed project.

The studio's partnership with Dreamhaven doesn't come as much of a surprise. Recently a number of indie studios comprised of ex-Blizzard talent have flocked to Morhaime's Dreamhaven banner, with Dreamhaven itself serving as a consultation company of sorts looking to provide support and resources for the smaller game studios under its umbrella.

"We are so fortunate to be able to work with the industry giants at Dreamhaven who were instrumental in creating the RTS legacy that inspired Frost Giant," Morten said in a statement to Venturebeat. "Mike Morhaime has helped set a benchmark for real-time strategy games that has not been surpassed. He remains engaged with the genre and the community today, and his advice will be incredibly valuable as we work to bring real-time strategy (RTS) games to a broad audience."

Frost Giant's partnership with Dreamhaven comes hot on the heels of an IGN report detailing Blizzard's high-profile departures in recent years, with the report specifically citing Blizzard's decision to put Starcraft 2 in "maintenance mode" as a possible reason for departures like Morten and others on the Starcraft 2 team.