8 Possible Games from Blizzard
Blizzard are to announce a new game at the Blizzard Invitational in Korea, on the 19th of May. Here's my thinking on what they'll announce, in increasing order of likelihood, and with some explanation attached.
8. Lost Vikings Game
I don't honestly think this is a very likely possibility, but it's the intellectual property that got Blizzard started, and it does still have a fanbase. It's possible they could update the concepts, and produce a new game around it.
7. New MMO
It's also remotely possible that the announcement will be a wholly new MMO, not based on any of their existing properties. It's hard to see how this wouldn't canniablise their existing World of Warcraft market, but if it was new and different enough, it could work. Blizzard have the resources to produce a next-generation MMO, if they put their minds to it. However, the first next-gen MMO is not likely to be as successful as the third or fourth, when the concepts have been established, so I don't think they'll go for it.
6. New RTS game
RTS games are where Blizzard got their reputation, and the market there is kind of dull at the moment - very much open for something new. However, the work involved in a wholly new game, as opposed to updating an existing franchise, makes this unlikely as well.
5. Warcraft 4
Given the current success of WoW, I can't really see Warcraft 4 being a full possibility. However, if they were going to spend a few years development time on it, it would be worth getting the hype started now.
4. Diablo 3
We're into the realms of real possibility here, because Diablo 2 was an excellent game, it's been a while since it came out, and that kind of single/multi-player hack-and-slash game is a proven success. It also wouldn't impact much on their existing, working markets.
3. Other Starcraft game
A non-MMO, non-RTS Starcraft game could float. An RPG, perhaps, in the style of Bioware's offerings, could go down very well indeed. A Civilization-style build-and-manage turn-based strategy game in the Starcraft universe would be truly awesome. And of course, the well-known Korean liking for Starcraft makes the likelihood of the announcement being something to do with it much more likely.
2. Starcraft MMO
The possibility of the World of Starcraft has been put forward many times, and I do think it's a good working possibility. There are lots of people out there who played - even still play - Starcraft, and who are not playing WoW. This would be a good way to tap that market, and it would firmly establish Blizzard as the dominant game company in the MMO space - not that that position is in much doubt right now.
1. Starcraft 2
My number one prediction, though, is for a new Starcraft RTS game. Korea is the perfect place to announce this, it's a game which would sell and sell and sell, and as noted above, the RTS market is pretty quiet around now. When you take into account the possibility of using the lessons Blizzard have learned from their other multiplayer games and from the MMO, the possibilities of RTS-with-some-massive-aspects become very, very likely indeed.
Posted by Drew Shiel at May 17, 2007 8:50 AM
Don't forget they never 'officially' abandoned Starcraft Ghost, so it /might/ be that (yes, I know it's reaching).
Posted by: Salith at May 17, 2007 10:21 AM