Warcraft Axed by Blizzard

The Warcraft party ended suddenly late Friday afternoon when Blizzard Entertainment said it was ceasing further development of Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans.

Blizzard Entertainment said the decision to cancel its first foray into graphic adventures was made after reassessing whether or not the game met the company's standards. This will come as a disappointment to many who were eagerly anticipating the animated adventure. The title was based in the universe from Blizzard's best-selling Warcraft strategy game series.

The following statement was released by Blizzard:

"Following an intensive review of the game, the company determined that given the game's current status and the rapidly changing technology of the industry, it would not be possible to complete development of the game within a reasonable time frame.

While this has been an extremely difficult decision, we firmly believe that we cannot release a title that does not meet the exceptionally high standards that both we and our customers expect from the Blizzard label."

One can assume Blizzard's doubts about the game were long held. The company had earlier brought in veteran adventure game designer Steve Meretzky to lend his expertise to the design of a game that had already been in development for many months.

This establishes the beginning of a trend for Blizzard. The company terminated its association with Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain for similar reasons in spring 1996.