Blizzard delays unannounced MMO until 2016, resets whole project (exclusive)

[steve2470]

http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/28/blizzard-delays-unannounced-mmo-until-2016-resets-whole-project-exclusive/

Blizzard Entertainment makes a mint from its World of Warcraft franchise, and the gaming giant has had an unannounced massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game in the works for some time. But GamesBeat has learned that Blizzard has decided to push the reset button, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The team of 100 developers working on the MMO, codenamed “Titan,” has been reduced by 70 positions, and Blizzard is reassigning those people to other work. Meanwhile, the core of the team will start over on Titan. The title is now not expected to be published until 2016 at the earliest.

We have asked Blizzard for an official comment on Titan’s status.

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has been generating $1 billion or so in revenues for years, with millions of players paying for subscriptions. But the game fell by 1.3 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2013 to just above 8 million, down from 10 million last year. This is down from a peak of 12 million subscribers. That’s a steep drop, and this suggests that Blizzard really ought to get on with the publication of its new MMO.

[uriel1972]

1. Gak, you'd think with the money they make they can afford to keep a few developers on the books...nt