Fans are eagerly waiting for new games from Blizzard and Activision Blizzard itself. The sequels Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 are rumored to be expected at BlizzCon 2019. However, Activision speaks of new brands currently in development.
This is the problem with Activision Blizzard right now: Activision Blizzard is in a transitional year in 2019. While WoW Classic is coming on August 27 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is releasing on October 25 – those are also the only major games. Perhaps Warcraft 3: Reforged as well.
Due to the separation from Destiny developer Bungie, there are now even fewer games than before.
This means that the player numbers at Activision Blizzard and thus also the revenue numbers are dwindling.
Compared to Q2 2018, Activision Blizzard has about 7% fewer players – Blizzard is down 4% compared to the previous year.
However, this is not expected to last long. Activision Blizzard is working on accelerating the development of new games. They laid off 800 people, but the actual development teams are set to grow.
New Brands, Remastered and Sequels
This is what Activision Blizzard says now: The Chief Operating Officer of Activision Blizzard, Coddy Johnson, stated in the recent investor call that they currently have new brands in development all around, at Activision, Blizzard, and King.
However, they have a high standard for approving new ideas. Therefore, they will not talk too soon about new brands. Johnson feels quite confident about Activision’s past and believes that the brands will see success in the future.
Another idea is to utilize well-known and established brands. Regarding “Remastered”, Activision Blizzard is optimistic because the trilogy about Crash Bandicoot N. Sane performed so well and sold over 10 million units.
President Rob Kotick says: “We believe we have a lot of brands that our fans would like to play again, so I can say: Stay tuned for further announcements.
But beyond mere remasters, I think there are a lot of opportunities to think innovatively about new content for these brands.”
At Activision Blizzard, there is a belief that there is still a lot of potential for growth among existing franchises.
Kotick’s words strongly hint at sequels.
Blizzard in a Sequel Frenzy – What will the new game be?
What’s next for Blizzard? According to rumors, Blizzard plans to unveil 2 new games for well-known brands at BlizzCon 2019 this year:
- Overwatch 2 is supposed to bring a kind of “PvE mode” for Overwatch – it is said to resemble Left4Dead. This is based on insider reports from June 2019.
- Diablo 4 is set to be the next installment in the Diablo series, has been in development for a long time, and has undergone several changes. According to insider reports from November 2018, the plan for Diablo 4 has already been altered multiple times. The current version of Diablo 4 is supposed to incorporate more “light MMO elements”. But much is still in flux.
Both games, however, have not been officially confirmed, and even Blizzard reportedly was not sure if they would truly be ready for BlizzCon 2019.
Along with the two sequels, there is now the possibility that a “new brand” will emerge and become another game for Blizzard. However, it might well be that this “new brand” will take some time to be realized.
In June 2019, it was revealed that Blizzard had developed a new game for two years, which was then canceled. It was supposed to be a Starcraft shooter codenamed “Ares”.
This is also normal for Blizzard: if games do not meet the “high standard”, they are often quietly canceled without much being heard from them.
It is clear at this moment that publisher Activision Blizzard and the players are craving new games from Blizzard.
