Activision Blizzard Inc. and NetEase Inc. have officially called off the World of Warcraft mobile game that had been under construction for the last three years. Sure enough, this is one of those moments when we question (again) what’s going on with Blizzard. And why are these companies still working with them but aren’t achieving anything tangible?
World of Warcraft remains one of the biggest accomplishments for Activision Blizzard and NetEase, the game’s Chinese distributor since 2009. But this didn’t mean that it should have gone further than that. Unfortunately, coercing video games that wouldn’t go as far as the original once can turn sideways if it isn’t adequately executed. And this pretty much looks like the reason why the project was canceled.
Indeed, it hasn’t been a typical year for the company. Setting aside the cancellation situation, Blizzard’s mobile initiatives generally have not all been successful. Bloomberg has reported that the company also canceled another Warcraft-based project, an augmented-reality game similar to Pokémon GO (which had been in development for more than four years).
Bloomberg also stated that shutting down this project has left uncertainty on Blizzard’s partnership with China’s No. 2 gaming giant, which affords the US studio a valuable window into the world’s biggest mobile market. In case you didn’t know, this company is also a co-creator of the recently released Diablo Immortal, which is on track to become a commercial success this year. So, possibly this situation has surfaced to make space for more collaborations in the future. Projects prove how strong these two industry giants can create together.
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