With Project Ghost, former WoW developer Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street aimed to create an innovative MMORPG from the West once again. Now the project threatens to fail before it is even released.
What project is it about? It is about “Project Ghost” from the studio Fantastic Pixel Castle, founded by former WoW lead Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, with additional veterans such as former WoW lead Brian Holinka also working on it.
The MMORPG aimed to bring new innovations, like the red and blue zones, which were meant to reinvent exploration for the MMORPG genre. Even the first testers were extremely enthusiastic, but already before the game is released, it threatens to fail.
Here you can see gameplay of Project Ghost:
Publisher withdraws
Why does the project threaten to fail? In a new post on X.com, studio founder Greg Street announced that the publisher NetEase has parted ways with the development studio. While the former WoW lead thanks for the good collaboration, he also sees a difficult future ahead.
He explains in the same post that they are in the process of looking for a publisher and investor for the MMORPG. Meanwhile, he would advise employees to apply for other positions. He also expresses very clear words:
If we do not find a publisher soon, the studio will probably close, and the entire team, including the executives, would be affected.
Greg Street on X.com
Already in August, there was a report stating that the publisher had cut the financing package for the MMORPG studio, leading the studio to start cutting costs.
Why the cuts at NetEase? Already in February 2025, MeinMMO reported on cuts affecting the Chinese corporation. For instance, savings were made on Marvel Rivals, even though the game had a strong start in 2024.
The MMORPG for Warhammer, which comes from industry veteran Jack Emmert, who has been involved in games like Neverwinter Online, Star Trek Online, and City of Heroes, also had to seek new investors.
If the studio surrounding Greg Street has to close, it would be a severe blow for the MMORPG genre in the West. His team has substantial experience and has already shown in the first test that they can impress professionals, even if the game is still far from finished: Well-known YouTuber was allowed to play the new MMORPG from former WoW developers, drawing unusual comparisons to Elden Ring
