BLIZZCON - CEO and Co-Founder Mike Morhaime let slip a bit of news in between panels about the possibility of WarCraft IV.
“WarCraft IV is being thought about,” said Morhaime, and went on to explain that priority was still on Diablo III and the StarCraft II expansions, the latter of which were made by the same team that worked on WarCraft III.
So where would WarCraft IV take the story, and how would WoW fit into the franchise?
The key issue would be the new MMO IP Blizzard is developing, which has also yet to be announced. Jeffrey Kaplan, currently the lead designer for the as-yet-unrevealed project, stated in an interview that the MMO would have broader appeal that is predecessor, World of WarCraft. This could mean that WoW could be retired as the company’s flagship title, and thus returned to its RTS roots. Given Blizzard’s long development time, generally more than four years, the possibility of WoW winding down in that time is great. In order to keep people playing, they would likely implement the free-to-play model in order to keep players from leaving it entirely.
What are your thoughts? Are we reaching a singularity with Blizzard products that is requiring them to go in completely new directions, thus returning their legendary franchises to their roots? Comment below.
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