It’s only the beginning of 2022, and Blizzard Entertainment is already looking to have its most eventful period in years. Already embroiled in legal troubles and controversy alongside its parent company Activision, the pair were also just acquired by Microsoft. With several projects including Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 being deep in development, and the future of World of Warcraft looking uncertain, such a massive shift in power could be just what Blizzard needs to get its projects moving again. It seems like the company is betting on this, as just a week after the Microsoft news, Blizzard has announced that it is hiring for a brand-new survival IP.
It comes as a shock these days when an established massive company announces that it is working on an entirely new AAA property, and Blizzard’s name makes this instance hold more weight than most. Any time Blizzard announced a new game in the past two decades has been a major event, and the announcement of its latest IP Overwatch shocked and amazed the industry. That came out in 2016 and codified the hero shooter genre, and it has taken until now for Blizzard to decide to tackle another new IP. This game will tackle the survival genre on PC and consoles, and will play host to a fresh universe. Establishing a brand-new world to enter a well-established genre is a risk for Blizzard, though it has its benefits.
A New World Brings New Opportunities
The simple act of detaching its new survival project from its other IPs will draw a lot of eyes to Blizzard’s new game. Established brands are important in drawing in existing audiences, but new IPs have a chance to make a much bigger splash on launch. There are more people playing video games now than there were even a few years ago, and many will want to check out this new IP. The game’s almost total lack of information will inspire theory-crafting throughout its development, and constant discussion is good for spreading awareness. Even once the game is properly revealed, it will be full of new sights and mysteries that will keep potential fans guessing.
It also helps that Blizzard has a pedigree to draw on, particularly with regard to brand-new IPs. Every Blizzard franchise is known for its interesting world and characters, and for being hugely influential in its genre.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans revolutionized real-time strategy games, and made multiplayer, among other things, become genre staples. Its transition into World of Warcraft and Hearthstone shaped the history of both MMORPGs and digital card games, and competitors like Final Fantasy 14 and Legends of Runeterra wouldn’t be what they are without them. Starcraft was left to take over the classic multiplayer RTS genre in some parts of the world, and Diablo carved out a hack-and-slash RPG subgenre with its loot and different classes. Expectations for Blizzard’s take on a survival game will be very high, and that comes with a lot of publicity.
Why It Would Be Safer to Set Blizzard’s Survival Game in an Old Franchise
However, the weight of that much expectation can be crushing. High expectations have proven to be problematic for new games like Bethesda's new IP Starfield, even if it's built on the backs of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. It’s years too soon to say what state Blizzard’s new survival game will launch in, but it needs to impress, otherwise fans will come away feeling let down.
Trying to impress in the survival genre is no small feat either, as it has become packed with games in the last decade. Minecraft, The Forest, Valheim, Rust, and other established survival franchises will be what Blizzard has to compete with. Even if the game’s writing and level of polish are as novel as Blizzard fans expect, there will be a struggle to innovate more than games continuing to receive updates or new installments during its development cycle.
Striking out with a new franchise also runs the risk of wasting all the time and money spent establishing it. Something without a well-known brand to lean on can collapse beyond the point of recovery. Blizzard’s messaging when discussing its new game heavily implies it will be set in a fantasy universe, which means that it had a chance to be a Warcraft spin-off instead.
Being set in Warcraft’s world might drive away some who lack interest in the IP, but it would attract many with an existing link to it. The chance to experience the fantastical and fleshed-out Warcraft universe would be very enticing, and it could take some attention away from the many gameplay and story issues World of Warcraft is currently working through. It’s probably not too late to pivot, but that’s only if Blizzard wants to take a safer approach with its first survival game.
Where Blizzard’s New Universe Will Lead The Company
Still, fortune favors the bold, and even after many years, it seems like risk-taking is still in Blizzard’s DNA. This new survival game will probably land sometime after the Microsoft acquisition is settled upon. This means a brand-new IP for Blizzard, Xbox, and possibly Activision Blizzard if the company’s major components don’t split off again under Microsoft. Being under the umbrella of one of the big three console manufacturers does give Blizzard’s projects a degree of financial stability, and this particular project is guaranteed to have an enormous marketing push.
The survival genre’s trend towards updates over time also works well with Microsoft’s push for more games-as-a-service in recent years. Having a new, promising franchise to add to its exclusive lineup will spur Microsoft on to give the game pre and post-launch support.
It’s a time of change for Blizzard, and hopefully, that change is for the better. Stepping into a new era of ownership on top of having several major projects in development means that the company will be in some level of turmoil for a while. A whole new franchise being workshopped in the middle of this is probably nerve-wracking, but also exciting. Fans and developers alike are hopeful that this new survival-based world can mark a new era for Blizzard, and perhaps a new outlook on survival games as well.