Blizzard's mysterious Odyssey survival game is now confirmed to be under the leadership of Ubisoft's former executive director for the Far Cry franchise. Very little is known about Blizzard's survival game at this point, and by all accounts it's still early in development. Blizzard isn't ignoring the survival game's existence, however, and is willing to share some information about the project when it makes sense. Confirmation of the involvement of a former Far Cry director is quite unexpected, though.
The Blizzard survival game was first revealed in January 2022 with a recruitment post seeking talent to help "create a new universe." The description provided for the game was short on detail but hinted at shared worlds with crossover between the "real world" and a fantastical one. Concept art showed a portal of rock and root found in the wilderness, but with skyscrapers from a nearby city seen in the distance. Through the portal, a floating castle can be seen.
News of the Blizzard survival game's development was shared in an end-of-year update from the company. The post detail changes to Blizzard's separate development teams and, in a surprise, Dan Hay the former Executive Director for Ubisoft's Far Cry brand was listed as the survival game's General Manager. Hay wrote that the team working on the survival game had doubled in size in 2022 and expects to continue growing in 2023.
Hay served as executive director for the Far Cry brand from 2018 through 2021, overseeing Far Cry 6 and Far Cry New Dawn's development. He started with Ubisoft in 2011, however, working as a producer for Far Cry 3. He then shifted to Executive Producer for Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 4, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and even took on the role of Creative Director for Far Cry 5. Suffice to say, he's played a key role in the franchise for a decade.
As general manager for the new Blizzard game, Hay may have been hired due entirely to his leadership experience working on major AAA games. Hay has significant experience on the creative side of development, too, though. It could mean that Blizzard sees something in the Far Cry franchise that it would like to see in its survival game. Far Cry hasn't been much of a survival experience since Far Cry 2, but it does have some survival elements. Experience with first-person gameplay could also be a priority.
In the end, little more has been revealed regarding Blizzard's survival project than what was known before. The involvement of Hay does raise an eyebrow, though. Far Cry is a popular franchise, but it isn't necessarily known for its uniqueness or creativity anymore. What that means for the Blizzard survival game is yet to be seen.
Blizzard's survival game is currently in development for PC and consoles.