Blizzard Entertainment
As the companionship behind vastly popular games likeWorld of Warcraft , Diablo IV , andOverwatch 2 , Blizzard Entertainment has always been one of gaming ’s megapowers . Now , a new book delves into the company ’s long and complicated history . Play Nice : The Rise , Fall , and hereafter of Blizzard Entertainment , is the latest book from Bloomberg ’s Jason Schreier . It begins at Blizzard ’s creation , goes through its success with hits likeWarcraft III , and culminates with its late struggles , including feud with parent company Activision , the 2021 sexual torment lawsuit , and the wallop of Microsoft ’s 2023acquisition of the party .
It ’s a fantastic read , and I extremely recommend you pick a copy up for yourself . It gives great perceptiveness into what studios win and lose when becoming one of the most popular companies in the picture game industry . For fan of Blizzard , there are some especially juicy choice morsel to learn , include a prospicient list of canceled project from the developer ’s long story . I ’ve compiled every cancel undertaking featured in the book , fromStarCraft : GhosttoOdyssey , but you’re able to find out much more about the undertaking and the context around them inPlay Nice .
Blizzard Entertainment
Denizen
Denizenis described as “ a dungeon - crawler that was shelved due to lack of resources . ” Not much more is known about it .
Bloodlines
Bloodlineswas a “ distance lamia ” biz in growth at Blizzard . Play Nicereveals it was scratch because it “ did n’t resonate with enough faculty to vindicate its creation . ”
Pax Imperia 2 and Crixa
Blizzard Entertainment attempted to publish biz made by other developers in the 1990s . This include a subsequence to the empire - work up real - prison term scheme gamePax Imperia : Eminent Dominantand a “ top - down shooter made by a small studio apartment in Boston ” calledCrixa . Both were invalidate , althoughPlay Nicedoesn’t go into specifics as to why they were canned .
Shattered Nations
James Phinney , a lead designer at Blizzard , tried to get a turn - based strategy game calledShattered Nationoff the background at Blizzard in the nineties . It was inspired bySid Meier ’s Civilizationseries of telecasting games . It was ultimately canceled because Blizzard father Allen Adham did n’t want Blizzard to make a bit - base video game .
A Star Wars RTS
At one point , Blizzard co - founding father Allan Adham separate employees that the studio was “ in early discussions ” to create a Star Wars scheme game . “ Before they could even build a image , Adham came back with news that theirStar Warsgame was n’t fall out after all,”Play Nicesubsequently unveil . Former LucasArts President Jack Sorensen tell Schreier he “ did n’t return have any discussions with Blizzard about making aStar Warsgame . ” Instead of creating aStar WarsRTS , Blizzard carry on to develop the sci - fi RTS approximation , which eventually result inStarCraft .
Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans
wreak Nicetouches on the well - known story ofWarcraft Adventures : Lord of the Clans , a LucasArts - inspired scheme game that followed the story of Thrall . While the game has since leaked online in full , Blizzard never officially released it , but that was not for lack of taste . They run on it for two years , but feel that “ the artistic production way seemed unskilled and the puzzler were n’t quite clicking . ” The book even includes an anecdote aboutLeisure Suit Larrycreator Al Lowe playing the game at a swap show and lamenting , “ If you guy wire ca n’t make this work , then who can ? ”
SorcererandZork Zerodesigner Steve Meretzky was get in to see if there was a fashion to save the game and increase its quality without spending much more money . Meretzky would spell up figure written document on how to ameliorate the secret plan , but a few weeks after doing so , he fetch a call that Blizzard had canceled the plot . “ The cancellation be them hundreds of G of dollars , but Adham and [ former CEO Michael ] Morhaime knew that if Blizzard ever give up a product that was wide perceived as subpar , it would destroy the company ’s reputation,”Play Niceconcludes about Warcraft Adventures ’ cancellation . The whole game has leaked and been remastered by fans ; you’re able to watch a full playthrough below .
Fugitive Studios’ 3D action RPG
Amid foiling with Blizzard over event that you should readPlay Niceto learn more about , over a twelve developer — including James Phinney , Jesse McReynolds , Eric Flannum , Robert Djordjevich , and Maxx Marshall , and Justin Thavirat — give Blizzard . They establish a new company bid Fugitive Studios and attempted to make a 3D military action RPG , but it run out due to pattern and technical overambition and the fact that “ one of their business spouse turn out to be undependable . ” Fugitive Studios close down within a yr , and some of its developer returned to Blizzard .
Warcraft: Legends
Programmer Mike O’Brien was the master driving personnel behind Blizzard ’s Battle.net , so he got to flip his own project . It wasWarcraft : Legends , a 3D spinoff where thespian did n’t have to worry about constructing bases , had few and more muscular units to overlook , and did so from an over - the - berm television camera perspective . It was called a “ role - playing scheme ” game by Blizzard when it was announce in September 1999 . out front of that promulgation , Warcraft : Legendswas rebranded toWarcraft III , but this may have been the destruction knell for the project .
Other Blizzard staff did not wantLegendsbecomingWarcraft IIIas “ they wanted to advance the real - time scheme genre , not formulate something else entirely , according to the Bible . ” Because O’Brien had “ made a few too many enemy ” at Blizzard , he could not get enough the great unwashed on his side to substantiate his vision . He would be removed from the projection after a year and left Blizzard with fellow employees Jeff Strain and Pat Wyatt to start what would finally becomeGuild Warsdeveloper ArenaNet .
Diablo for Game Boy
After the release ofDiablo II , a circle of Blizzard North ’s leaders hire sabatticals or had a very laid - back management style when present . Play Nicesays this intend that there were some developer who “ broke off to comply caprice that never materialized , like a version ofDiablofor Nintendo ’s Game Boy . ”
Starblo
Blizzard North co - founder David Brevik eventually decided to helm “ Project X , ” a young information processing for the studio . Brevik had trouble settling on a conception because he was burnt out . After two geezerhood , Project XbecameStarblo , which , as its title paint a picture , “ was a sci - fi take on Diablo ” where player would “ skip in a spaceship and travel between planets , collecting new guns and battle aliens as they traversed the stars . ”
Unfortunately , Starblowould not see the Inner Light of day after Blizzard North ’s leaders , dun with a lack of communicating and uncertainness with the company , threaten to resign . While this move was meant to be a bluff , Blizzard parent company Vivendi assume their resignations and forced them out of Blizzard North . Starblowas offset as a event .
The first version of Diablo III
The original version ofDiablo III , which emerged around the same time asProject X , was inspired byUltima Onlineand a 3D MMORPG where “ hundreds , if not thousands of mass would be able to interact and diddle together . ” After the turmoil at Blizzard North aroundStarblo , the game was scale back to be secretive toDiablo II . The project also scramble as it constantly changed direction due to feedback from different Blizzard executives . In the summer of 2005 , Blizzard North was shut down , and the development ofDiablo IIImoved to Blizzard proper in Irvine , California .
Nomad
In 1998 , cinematics department developer Duane Stinnett shift a game calledNomad . It was a postapocalyptic plot barrack byNecromundathat had some “ outlandish concept art have surreal depictions of turtles and Struthio camelus . ” Stinnett struggle to fully form and explicate how its gameplay would function , so Blizzard decided to quest after aWarcraftMMO inspired byEverQuestinstead . That project would becomeWorld of Warcraft .
The Lord of the Rings and Marvel MMOs
Vivendi Games executive director Bruce Hack canceled MMOs based on Marvel andThe Lord of the Ringsto centering onWorld of Warcraft . Both franchises would finally get MMOs from different secret plan developers .
StarCraft: Ghost
A former LucasArts and Blizzard developer named Robert Huebner started Nihilistic Software and toss a third - personStarCraftshooter for consoles . This undertaking would become the now - infamousStarCraft : Ghost , which succeed a Terran agent named Nova . Play Niceexplains that “ the loose , synergistic process that had been great for other production made it tough to lock down ideas as the plot entered right development ” and that it always switched between being a stealth and natural action biz under Nihlisitc .
Blizzard remove Nihilistic Software from the project in June 2004 , and the undertaking was given toMetal branch : Glitch in the Systemdeveloper Swingin ’ Ape Studios . Swingin ’ Ape start out development from scratch and took inspiration fromHaloas itshifted focal point to prioritise multiplayer . Blizzard acquired Swingin ’ anthropoid in May 2005 , but the single - player part ofStarCraft : Ghostespecially was not quick as the next generation of console approached . Blizzard “ indefinitely prorogue ” the undertaking in March 2006 .
HearthstoneandMarvel Snap’sBen Brode , who worked for Blizzard ’s creative development department at the sentence , attempt to convince Blizzard to release the multiplayer percentage ofStarCraft : Ghostas a budget Xbox bouncy title . That did n’t happen , with Brode telling Schreier , “ Blizzard was not very good at jumping on opportunities . ”
Other Swingin’ Ape prototypes
AfterStarCraft : Ghostdidn’t pan out because it was for last - contemporaries consoles , Swingin ’ Ape pitched some other projects as Blizzard ’s console division . One such idea was “ creating a differentStarCraftspinoff , ” but Swingin ’ Ape was finally shut down so Blizzard could refocus onWorld of Warcraft .
Avalon
Diablo IIIdirector Jay Wilson andLeft 4 Deaddesigner Mike Booth come up with an idea to “ do forMinecraftwhatWorld of Warcrafthad done toEverQuest : take the magnetic core approximation , fix everything they did n’t like about it , and give it the Blizzard burnish . ” They start prototyping a game calledAvalon . Wilson had to take a sabbatic as he battled depression , anxiety , and bipolar disorderliness in the wake of the deluge of torment and last threat he receive overDiablo III’srocky launch . Wilson left theAvalonteam and started working onWorld of Warcraftwhen he returned to Blizzard . Avalonwas eventually canceled .
A second Diablo III expansion
TheDiablo IIIteam brainstorm ideas for a second enlargement ; alas , the team was tell in an all - hands confluence prior toReaper of Souls’launch thatDiablo IIIwould not get a second expansion even ifReaper of Soulsperformed well . represent NiceassertsDiablo IIIwas vacate because they “ sawDiablo IIIas a loser ” and “ did n’t thinkReaper of Soulswould be good enough to turn it around . ”Diablo III : Reaper of Soulsis a beloved expansion that sits at87 on Metacritic . “ Morhaime and other Blizzard executives would afterwards privately admit that canceling Diablo III ’s 2nd enlargement beforeReaper of Soulseven came out had been a tactical error,”Play Nicereveals .
Hades
Team 3 Director Josh Mosqueira was given free rein to explore what was next for theDiablofranchise . First was a game codification - namedHades . “ The camera would be over - the - shoulder rather than isometrical ; the combat would be punchier , blood-related to theBatman : Arkhamseries ; and the game would have permadeath,”Play Niceexplains . alas , Team 3 struggled to adapt theBatman : Arkhamcombat formula to multiplayer , and Mosqueira became hard to go after down . Blizzard determine to restartDiablo IVfrom scratch after Mosqueira provide Blizzard in July 2016 .
WoW: TCG Online
Blizzard worked with Upper Deck to create theWorld of Warcraft Trading Card Gameand finally plan to make a digital version after take director Cory Jones . They wanted to “ make playing as frictionless as potential ” and called itWoW : TCG Online . finally , the development team conclude that there were some “ serious flaws ” with the physical circuit card secret plan that would become even more obvious in a digital version . They head up in a new direction that eventually result inHearthstone .
A Blizzard-made DOTA 2
After the player - createdDefense of the Ancientsmap and game manner became very popular , bet Nicereveals that Blizzard considered “ make an official reading ofDOTAforWarcraft IIIor even developing a sequel in - mansion . ” But when they tried to recruitDOTAdesigner Icefrog , Blizzard did not want to accommodate his list of requests that included full creative control . Blizzard in the end ignored the multiplayer online battle arena ( MOBA ) trend thatDOTAkicked off . In the old age that followed , Riot Games releasedLeague of Legends , which became very democratic and resulted in the poaching of several Blizzard developers . Icefrog would exploit with Valve to makeDOTA 2 .
Blizzard All-Stars
Blizzard All - Starswas the first iteration ofHeroes of the Storm , make inStarCraft 2’smap editor in chief . Blizzard considered releasing it around the same time as theHeart of the Swarmexpansio , n but eventually determine it would be well served as a standalone biz . poor boy of the Stormfailed to become as democratic asLeague of LegendsorDOTA 2 .
World of StarCraft
After the winner ofWorld of Warcraft , a similar treatment for Starcraft was considered . “ The natural next whole step seemed like aWorld of StarCraft , but they contend to envisionStarCraftlore fitting into an MMORPG , so or else they decided to develop a new fictitious universe,”Play Nicereveals .
Titan
That new fictional existence would beTitan , a game where actor assure superhero character reference in their casual and heroic lives . Unfortunately , there were political battles behind the aspect between Chris Metzen and Rob Pardo , soTitanconstantly exchange direction , and short advance was made . Metzen wanted a superhero universe similar to Marvel and DC , while Pardo wanted its characters to be more like hugger-mugger factor or spies .
The thought was that there would be “ Titan Town ” where players did n’t centre on fighting and did things more similar toAnimal Crossing , and a separate part of the secret plan with fight base around different superhero grapheme year . Blizzard had fuss connecting those two parts of the game to create a compelling burden gameplay grummet and was hampered by lackluster development shaft . In 2013 , the project was rebooted and eventually becameOverwatch , but this MMO evolution miss be Blizzard over $ 80 million .
An Overwatch MMO
Jeff Kaplan initially had ambitious plans for theOverwatchfranchise . “ They ’d start with this first game , which was limited to instrumentalist - versus - player multiplayer , then add a story and computer - control enemy for the sequel before culminating in anOverwatchMMORPG that would at last do on the visual sensation ofTitan,”Play Nicesays of Kaplan ’s overarching visual modality ofOverwatch . That ’s not how the franchise end up evolving over prison term .
Orbis
As part of an brooding program Allan Adham started after give to Blizzard in 2016 , aWarcraftgame that played likePokemon Go , code - namedOrbis , was in development . Orbiswas finally cancel because of developer detrition , its setting crawl , the pandemic , and unengaging fight .
Odyssey
Another brooding task , Odyssey , was think as Blizzard ’s take on the survival plot musical style . Its first prototype used Unreal Engine , and Activision executives liked it , but problems emerged when it throw to a novel internal engine call Synapse . Ubisoft ’s Dan Hay was brought in to lead development , and its squad grew to over 200 developers . Blizzard evenpublicly teasedOdyssey , but it continued to face problems with its design and technology and got cancel following layoffs in January 2024 .
Orion
roleplay NicedescribesOrionas “ an data-based nomadic RPG with asynchronous turn . It was helmed by formerHearthstonedirector Eric Dodds and a few of his old Team 5 colleagues . ” It was fun to play in a room with others , but less sport on the go , as turns could take hours . It was strike down in favour of dedicating more resources toDiablo IVandOverwatch 2 .
Ares
StarCraft 2andHeroes of the Stormdirector Dustin Browder was working on a first - personStarCraftshooter code - namedAres . It was “ hard revolutionise by EA’sBattlefield ” and was in development for over three years with over 50 developers . However , it was invalidate because Activision executives dislikedBattlefieldand were ambivalent towardStarCraft . LikeOrion , its stave was moved toDiablo IVandOverwatch 2development .
The original version of WarCraft III: Reforged
Warcraft III : Reforgedwas in the first place an challenging reimaging of the RTS . It would ’ve had a rewritten hand to bring its lore more in line withWorld of Warcraft’sand some foreign mission and characters would have been rdesigned . These concepts were eventually drop due to a deficiency of time and funding , andWarcraft III : Reforgedwas hated upon its liberation in January 2020 .
Warcraft IV, StarCraft 3, and a Call of Duty RTS
snowstorm developer Tim Morton attempted to get a new RTS game greenlit at Blizzard multiple time in the late 2010s . He floated ideas forWarcraft IV , StarCraft III , and even aCall of DutyRTS . None of these ideas could get off the ground , so Morten eventually leave Blizzard Entertainment to createStormgateat Frost Giant Studios .
A turn-based StarCraft
playact Nicebriefly mentions that Allen Adham worked on a canceled “ turn - basedStarCraftgame in the style ofCivilization ” as an brooding project .
Andromeda
Andromedais described as a “ gamey - fidelity action game , like Sony ’s God of War , in the Warcraft universe . ” When creative music director Alex Afrasiabi was let go from Blizzard due to “ misconduct in his handling of other employees , ” the projection was canceled .
Diablo, Overwatch, and StarCraft Netflix shows
Activision Blizzard Studios had been working with Netflix to create shows based onDiablo , Overwatch , andStarCraft . These shows were canceled , potentially because Netflix poached Activision Cheif Financial Officer Spencer Neumann .
Neptune
NetEase , the ship’s company that madeDiablo Immortal , also worked with Blizzard on a mobile spinoff ofWorld of Warcraftset in a different geological era than the PC MMO . This projection , code - namedNeptune , was canceled in spring 2022 because Blizzard and NetEase ’s contract negotiations were not going well , and China had freeze the release of any new video recording game .
Overwatch 2’s Hero Mode
Most ofOverwatch 2’sdevelopment focus on PvE message , but only some was released . A replayableHero Mode was cancel in May 2023so Blizzard could focus on its multiplayer component . Some narrative missionary station were give up in August 2023 , but it does not appear Blizzard will release any more of them .
