As part of “substantial new content for the Warcraft franchise in 2022”.
Blizzard Entertainment’s long-running Warcraft franchise will be making its way to mobile later this year, according to a newly released quarterly earnings report from Activision.
As things currently stand, there’s not a lot of information to go on, with Activision only saying Blizzard is “planning substantial new content for the Warcraft franchise in 2022” that will see it deliver “all-new mobile Warcraft content into players’ hands for the first time”. The project is highlighted separately from World of Warcraft and Hearthstone, both of which will also be getting “new experiences” this year, according to Activision.
A mobile Warcraft experience would mark Blizzard’s first attempt to bring one of its beloved franchises to mobile since the disastrous unveiling of Diablo Immortal. That game, a free-to-play adaptation of the classic action-RPG series, was announced at BlizzCon 2018, where it was immediately met with hostility from Blizzard fans.
Since then, Diablo Immortal has entered a limited public technical alpha, and early impressions seem to suggest it offers a solidly enjoyable transition to mobile for the long-running series – news that might provide some degree of assurance for fans around similar ventures. It remains to be seen how Warcraft will ultimately manifest as a mobile experience but the community will be hoping for a considerably better effort than Blizzard’s shambolic Warcraft 3 remake.
Today’s news of a new mobile Warcraft experience follows the equally low-key announcement that Blizzard – recently snapped up in Microsoft’s $69BN acquisition of Activision – is currently working on a brand-new survival game set in a “whole new universe”. Both announcements come as the developer continues to reel from the shocking allegations it fostered a company culture where sexual harassment, assault, and inappropriate behaviour were able to thrive.
Since the claims were made in a State of California lawsuit last year – one that called Blizzard a “breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women – Activision Blizzard’s disastrous attempts to right its public image have only worsened. CEO Bobby Kotick was subsequently the subject of a damning report claiming he was aware of sexual misconduct within the company “for years”, while Activision continues to draw ire for its apparent union-busting efforts as Raven Software employees attempts to unionise.
