Warcraft Mobile Game Reportedly Canceled
The Warcraft franchise is quite busy at the moment, with several releases across multiple platforms being developed. However, one Warcraft project, an untitled mobile game being developed by Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase, has reportedly gotten the axe.
The canceled game, code-named Neptune, was supposed to be a new MMORPG set in the Warcraft universe. Evidently, Neptune was not simply a mobile release of World of Warcraft, and was instead a new game set during a new time period. The project had been kept under wraps, so little information is known about it beyond the fact it had been in development for three years.
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According to Bloomberg, Neptune was scrapped due to disagreements over terms of financing and monetization, which ultimately led to the termination of the project. Over 100 developers assigned to the mobile game by NetEase found themselves out of a job–unfortunately, only some were transferred to other projects. Both NetEase and Activision Blizzard had no comments to add on the situation.
This dispute raises questions as to the longevity of Blizzard’s partnership with NetEase. As the second-largest Chinese gaming giant after Tencent, NetEase has worked with Blizzard for over a decade as the publisher of Warcraft, Diablo, and other Blizzard franchises in the Chinese market. It was also the co-creator of Diablo Immortal, Blizzard’s latest controversial-yet-successful mobile title. If this dispute interferes with their partnership, it could affect Blizzard’s success in the massive Chinese market, or it could simply begin partnering NetEase rival Tencent, who has worked with Activision in the past to release Call of Duty
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