Blizzard’s Unannounced Survival Game Canceled Alongside Layoffs

The unannounced Blizzard survival game has been canceled along with layoffs from Microsoft and we've got the details here!
Unknown Game From Blizzard That Was Cancelled With Two People In Forest Looking At Mountains
Image: Blizzard

In addition to the previously announced workforce reductions within its gaming division, Microsoft has confirmed the cancellation of Blizzard’s unannounced survival game. This is a huge hit to the company, as the project represented a departure from what the studio is known for.

News of the cancellation, given to The Verge, emerged alongside confirmation of the layoffs and the departure of the Blizzard President. Microsoft gaming chief Matt Booty stated that the company would be “shifting some of the people working on it to one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of development.” This suggests that while the specific survival game is no more, the talent and ideas behind it will not be entirely lost.

The untitled survival game was first announced in January 2022, with Blizzard describing it as a journey “to a whole new universe, home to a brand-new survival game for PC and console.” The project sparked excitement among fans, as it promised a fresh direction for the studio, which is known for established franchises like Diablo, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft.

Concept art accompanying the initial announcement hinted at a world blending elements of classic fantasy and contemporary settings. The artwork depicted characters gazing out from a natural archway towards a towering castle, with a bicycle and a modern city skyline visible in the distance. This fueled speculation about the game’s unique setting and potential narrative themes.

While details about the game’s development remained scarce, Blizzard’s call for talent in key positions like senior character artist, level designer, and lead software engineer suggested a project progressing beyond the early conceptual stage. However, the recent changes at Blizzard, including the Microsoft acquisition and subsequent layoffs, ultimately led to the project’s cancellation.

The cancellation of Blizzard’s survival game represents a missed opportunity for the company to explore a new genre and potentially attract a wider audience. It also means that the layoffs may have impacted those working on this game. Microsoft’s commitment to “several promising new projects” offers at least some hope for how things will go, but today has been a hard hit for Blizzard and Microsoft.

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar, also known as Aggy, is the current Assigning Editor.

He started his career as an esports, influencer, and streaming writer for Sportskeeda. He then moved to GFinity Esports to cover streaming, games, guides, and news before moving to the Social team where he ended his time as the Lead of Social Content.

He also worked a writer and editor for both Pro Game Guides and Dot Esports, and as a writer for PC Invasion, Attack of the Fanboy, and Android Police. Aggy is the former Managing Editor and Operations Overseer of N4G Unlocked and a former Gaming editor for WePC.

Throughout his time in the industry, he's trained over 100 writers, written thousands of articles on multiple sites, written more reviews than he cares to count, and edited tens of thousands of articles. He has also written some games published by Tales, some books, and a comic sold to Telus International.

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