A mobile spinoff of World of Warcraft has apparently been in development for three years. According to a report by Bloomberg, however, the project has now come to an abrupt halt.
What kind of project was this? As reported by Bloomberg, the game codenamed “Neptune” was supposed to be an MMORPG. It would have been set in the same world as World of Warcraft but would have played in a different timeline.
According to information from the portal, Activision Blizzard worked together with the Chinese company NetEase on the project. NetEase is the second-largest gaming company in China, behind the giant Tencent.
Blizzard and NetEase have previously collaborated, for instance, on Diablo Immortal. However, while the latter makes a lot of money despite much criticism, the mobile WoW spinoff is already done before the game has even been released.
Sudden end after three years
Why is the project ending? According to the report, NetEase has dissolved a team of 100 people who were working on the game. The two companies were reportedly at odds over various conditions, which is why the project has now been put on hold.
Bloomberg refers to anonymous sources who did not wish to be named. Both NetEase and Activision Blizzard apparently did not comment on the situation when asked by the portal.
Will there be no WoW Mobile at all? With the release of the MMORPG project, at least for the time being, there is no need to expect it. Originally, it was supposed to be set in the same setting as WoW, but in a different timeline, which would have surely pleased some lore fans. However, there are other projects from the Warcraft universe that are intended to be played on smartphones.
This includes Warcraft: Arclight Rumble. It is a kind of strategic fighting game reminiscent of mobile games like Clash Royale. You can find a closer insight in the preview report by MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch.
Additionally, Activision Blizzard stated back in early 2021 that they would be working on multiple Warcraft games for mobile.
No specific titles or contents were mentioned, but some of the games were said to be already in an “advanced state of development.” It is possible that “Codename Neptune” was part of these games.
Otherwise, World of Warcraft still has the big expansion for the main game this year: As Blizzard announced in June, “WoW Dragonflight” will still be released in 2022. You can find all information about the expansion here.
