Blizzard announces a new survival game not based on its existing franchises

Blizzard announced today that it is working on a new title, a survival game. It’s a new IP, not based on any of Blizzard’s existing franchises, and it’s planned for consoles and PC.

The game’s announcement page — which is mostly a recruitment drive looking for people to work on the project — says that the title takes place in “a place full of heroes we have yet to meet, stories yet to be told, and adventures yet to be lived. A vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored.”

Key art on the page shows two modern teenagers looking out on a fantastical world.

Microsoft is buying Blizzard and its parent company, Activision. This followed a 2021 filled with reports of toxic work practices at the Warcraft and Overwatch studio. Blizzard is working on two major games, Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, but both are taking longer to make than anticipated. Neither will release this year.

And yet Blizzard must continue looking to the future, and investment in new IPs is important. Just look at the boost the first Overwatch gave the studio in 2016.

These days, however, Blizzard doesn’t have the status it once enjoyed. Game developers are in high demand, and a studio embroiled in controversy would not be a first pick for many.

That’s why it’s important for every studio to talk about its projects before they normally would have. They want to get potential hires excited, and the idea of helping create the “next Overwatch” can do just that. Earlier today, Respawn announced three new Star Wars games along with a call for developers to apply to work at the studio.

Of course, announcing a game so early in development could be risky. Some Blizzard projects die, like the abandoned MMO Titan that morphed into Overwatch, or StarCraft Ghost, an attempt to turn the sci-fi series into a third-person action game.

Whatever comes of this new IP, it could be awhile before we get another update, let alone a proper name.