At least since 2009, we've heard rumors of Blizzard's codenamed “Project Titan,” an MMO completely independent of the company's blockbuster hit World of Warcraft. The game is set to be its own franchise developed from scratch. But now a report says that Blizzard is cutting back on the project's team and starting fresh.
In 2011, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime talked to an audience in Las Vegas about this new unannounced game. “Without giving away any details, we have some of our most experienced MMO developers, people who spent years working on the World of Warcraft team, working on this project.” But now, VentureBeat is reporting that Blizzard has decreased its team of 100 developers on the project down to 70, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The developers bumped off the project will apparently be reassigned to other work.
The same sources say the unannounced game will also be given a facelift. “A core of the team will hit the reset button on the MMO, known only under its supposed code name of Titan,” according to the VentureBeat report. “The title is now not expected to be published until 2016 at the earliest.”
Earlier this year, the company hinted at a new release but denied that it would involve Project Titan from the get-go. “It's not a sequel, expansion, or that rumored next-gen MMO,” Blizzard wrote. “But it's something we're excited for you to get your hands on." Blizzard ended up announcing a “freemium” online trading card game at PAX East.
VentureBeat points out that a leaked schedule led some people to believe that Project Titan would be announced in early 2014, but now it seems that is not the case. Despite declining World of Warcraft subscriber numbers (down to a little more than eight million after a peak of 12 million), players may have longer to wait than they expected to sink their teeth into a new Blizzard MMO.
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