Blizzard cans StarCraft FPS for Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4
Blizzard has renewed its focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 after cancelling an unannounced StarCraft FPS.
It’s been a big day for gaming news today. On top of some interesting reveals and confirmations, we’ve also seen more information about Google’s streaming platform. Now, though, we have even more intriguing news to report, this time from Blizzard’s base camp. According to Jason Schreier at Kotaku, Blizzard has canned an unannounced StarCraft FPS to renew the studio’s focus on Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4.
In a report made on Kotaku, Schreier advised that several sources within Blizzard have confirmed that a StarCraft FPS code-named Ares has been scrapped. According to Schreier, the FPS was described as a mix of Battlefield in the StarCraft universe. The project never left the prototype phase, though, and now Blizzard has completely canned it to instead focus on sequels for two of their most popular franchises, Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
To verify the reports, Schreier reached out to Blizzard, who responded in typical Blizzard fashion with fairly vague statements. The statement begins, “We don’t generally comment on unannounced projects…” It then continues on to talk about how the studio approaches game development as a whole, stating, “we pour our hearts and souls into this work, and as players ourselves, we know how exciting it can be to see and know with certainty that a new project is coming. Knowing that changes or disappointments can happen doesn’t make it any less painful when we have a shelve a project or when an announcement doesn’t go as planned.”
This statement, of course, definitely seems to back up the claims that the StarCraft FPS has been completely cancelled, and as Schreier points out in his original report, it’s not the first time we’ve seen that happen with a shooter based in the StarCraft universe. No matter how things play out at Blizzard, it doesn’t appear that any employees were laid off as a result of the cancelation, which means they’ve probably moved over to the other big projects on Blizzard’s plate right now. Most notably these projects could be Diablo 4, which has been rumored for a while now, as well as a sequel to Overwatch.
We’ll continue to keep our ear to the ground concerning this matter, but for now it appears that Blizzard has some things in the works, and it could be a very exciting year for Blizzard fans.
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replyJosh Hawkins posted a new article, Blizzard cans StarCraft FPS for Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4
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that was way longer than 10 years ago man
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Starcraft Ghost was at E3 14 years ago in 2005. I took this picture at the booth of Blizzard with a life size depiction of Nova a main character in the game. http://chattypics.com/files/iPhoneUpload_3fqgjehjf9.jpg It was really cool when I saw it, but never played the demo, if there was one.
I also got a picture in the Stargate of SG-1 because of another unreleased game at the time.
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Coming out of the same rumor:
Overwatch 2 would include a L4D-type PvE co-op mode.
https://www.pcgamer.com/rumor-blizzard-is-working-on-overwatch-2/-
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Knowing what I've researched on OW, they may need a full code-base refresh to properly support this type of PvE, and since they've been very clear they do not want to create expansions for OW as to split the playerbase, an OW2 that continues your player history from OW1 would make a lot of sense.
IT could also be a completely different game devoted to PvE modes, but I can't see that having the draw of an all-for-one game package. -
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They knew exactly what they were doing w the new Mei skin: https://1lal3e4eckus2d9p8g17wl8c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/mei.png
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The tricky thing with PvE in Overwatch is that players expect a lot of progression and loot now, but OW's characters are all hyper-specialized around their core kit which are tightly designed to work in the MP modes. I think they need to basically split PvE into a different game, where the characters are more standardized but can swap weapons and gear. Say each character has one unique skill and one ultimate, and the rest comes from equipment.
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I've long suspected Overwatch 2 based on the lack of any story progress and the so-so pace of content development. But I'm not sure what you do with it exactly. A bigger PvE component makes perfect sense, and that needs a major gameplay overhaul to be more compelling than the shooting gallery events they've been doing. I do wonder what happens to the multiplayer though. Do you make major changes that might turn off OW1 fans? Do you keep the game basically the same, carry over all the characters, and just keep adding more? Or does OW1 remain the multiplayer product and this is just a PvE add-on or spinoff?
I feel like OW1 is a fairly complete package for better or worse, its meta is pretty stable and the more characters they add the harder it is to really change anything about the core of it. I'd like to see them keep that game alive as a game mode in OW2 but shift focus onto something different as the new thing. Maybe have competitive modes that are more story based where the team composition is fixed/limited per teams. If we're going with the L4D analogy, I want Versus mode.-
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I really really want them to do real scripting and level editing in the Workshop like in SC2/WC3. Blizzard's modding community has always been phenomenal, but the GUI they added is not remotely up to the task. I would buy a whole game with nothing but a really good editor and custom games. I hope the tech they've been building for this can grow to that level of support some day.
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That's too bad. Always wanted something more in the StarCraft universe but from a different perspective.
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Har har har, I am evil Demon! So EVIL!
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The story in a Diablo game matters for like 0.000000001% of the amount time I end up playing it.
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I just think that if someone is skipping a Diablo game b/c the story is nonsense, they're probably not the core audience.
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I played those games for the reasons you're outlining, but I also really enjoyed playing through the campaign. It's what initially got me hooked. I think it's super important to have that as your basic touchstone, otherwise everything you're doing to collect loot might as well just be on a neon coloured grid.
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