August 03, 2024 – Microsoft and Blizzard have formed a new team to develop a small “AA” game, according to a report by Windows Central today. The new team, primarily composed of former King team members, will focus on creating a game based on Blizzard’s existing game IPs such as “Overwatch,” “Warcraft,” and “StarCraft.”
This move comes after Microsoft’s gaming division announced the layoff of 1,900 employees in January this year, including the departure of a significant number of Blizzard employees, including its president Mike Ybarra. Additionally, an unnamed survival game that had been in development for several years was canceled. However, the company has begun recruiting new talent to develop another unannounced game.
The new team’s composition suggests that the upcoming game may be a mobile game, considering King’s expertise in the mobile gaming sector, specifically with their hit game “Candy Crush Saga.” Nevertheless, the possibility of the game targeting other platforms has not been ruled out.
According to insiders, Microsoft aims to make some changes by developing “smaller, possibly even experimental games” to save costs on AAA titles. This strategy seems to have been inspired by the success of their earlier small game “Pentiment,” which yielded significant profits for the company earlier this year.
Overall, the collaboration between Microsoft and Blizzard, along with the involvement of former King developers, hints at an exciting new direction for the gaming giant, potentially paving the way for more innovative and cost-effective gaming experiences.
