Support NeoGAF

[Fio]

I hope it fails terribly, making Blizzard-Activion to lose billions upon billions of dollars, creating a situation where they will be in so much financial trouble that they'll have no option but starting creating new IPs and continuing the Warcraft franchise.

 

[OrangeYouGlad]

would be interesting if it is World of Starcraft, would make sense though.

maybe World of Diablo

It's a new IP. I recall Blizzard being very adamant about it not being World of Starcraft/Diablo.

 

[Hugbot]

This is exactly what Blizzard should NOT be concentrating on.

Their trio is something you do not want to fuck with. Just leave it alone, Blizzard.

If there's anything people should have learned by now it's that Blizzard knows what they're doing, business-wise.

 

[BeEatNU]

They've said it's a new IP.

oh!

well hmmmm

 

[StuBurns]

But honestly, that far? For a company that essentially never announces release dates until a few months in advance, or until the beta is winding down?

And why the hell would the movie be targeted that specifically so far in advance, without any director officially attached?

It all just strikes me as vague educated guesses by any schmuck that's watched Blizzard for years. Agreeing with a leaked codename means virtually nothing.

Just because they don't announce it to the public doesn't mean they don't have internal targets. I can't imagine any company doesn't. Maybe they won't make those dates, but it all seems very reasonable to me.

The only thing that is strange, is I doubt all that information would ever be on the same page, because a leak would mean a leak of everything. So I'd imagine someone either had lots of info and made the chart themselves, or it's fake, or a leak from very high up.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

But honestly, that far? For a company that essentially never announces release dates until a few months in advance, or until the beta is winding down?

And why the hell would the movie be targeted that specifically so far in advance, without any director officially attached?

It all just strikes me as vague educated guesses by any schmuck that's watched Blizzard for years. Agreeing with a leaked codename means virtually nothing.

...so that everyone is on the same page, and is still on the same page even when it gets changed?

Just because they don't announce release dates doesn't mean they just wake up one morning and realize they're three months from finishing Diablo 3.

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

found it, Hope D3 is coming fall 2011, and I am glad they are planning for more than 1 Diablo expansion. Also what the fuck is StarCraft 2 Phoenix.

That means that I will be playing D3 for the 4th year in a row at Gamescom :lol :lol :lol

Entire video game series have come and gone in that time :lol :lol

 

[The Lamonster]

If it's sci-fi I might just have to quit real life.

.

 

[TheOddOne]

But honestly, that far? For a company that essentially never announces release dates until a few months in advance, or until the beta is winding down?

And why the hell would the movie be targeted that specifically so far in advance, without any director officially attached?

It all just strikes me as vague educated guesses by any schmuck that's watched Blizzard for years. Agreeing with a leaked codename means virtually nothing.

Its common knowledge that big projects are always planned ahead.

 

[charlequin]

I find it highly unlikely that Blizzard would even be casually targetting specific quarters almost five years in a advance.

Why not? Companies do these kind of speculative future timelines all the time, even if they're not really binding. I would be more surprised if documents like this didn't exist at a company like Blizzard. I'm sure whoever wrote this wasn't actually saying "we think we'll hit all these targets," it's more about presenting the current status quo at all the various teams and initiatives within the company in an easy-to-understand way for strategic planning purposes.

That said, yes, it was known well before that schedule leak that Titan was the name of Blizzard's next MMO.

 

[diztrukted]

All of the names on the chart were from pre-existing rumors. I find it highly unlikely that Blizzard would even be casually targetting specific quarters almost five years in a advance. It's probably some list made by somebody that spent an hour looking at Blizzard rumor forums, and had at least some historical understanding of how spaced-out Blizzard expansions are, or the timeframe between reveal and release.

(SC Phoenix is a name for a rumored remake of SC1 using SC2 mechanics and graphics).

perfect.

 

[Majine]

It would be cool if Titan had a modern day setting, to complement their other 3 universes.

 

[Yaweee]

Its common knowledge that big projects are always planned ahead.

Of course dates for games are "planned ahead", but 15~20 projects with half-decade long development cycles all being tentatively aimed for specific quarters up to another half-decade in advance just strikes me as completely absurd.

Yes, it could be real, but I see no reason to regard it as anything more than some fake made by a fan collating numerous existing rumors and basic pattern prediction based on the last ten years of Blizzard releases. It all strikes me as being kind of like a horoscope. People will twist anything that happens, is announced, or any slight shift over the coming year and relate it to this "leak".

 

[Corto]

Diablo 3 in 2011?! OMG.

 

[StuBurns]

Of course dates for games are "planned ahead", but 15~20 projects with half-decade long development cycles all being tentatively aimed for specific quarters up to another half-decade in advance just strikes me as completely absurd.

How vague would the targets need to be for it to be believable?

 

[steadfast]

i remember reading this was a shooter. good be great

It's most definitely a shooter of some sort. Most likely FPS.

A lot of the team from EALA (before they became Danger Close) that had been working on Medal of Honor for the last few years, some going back as far as 6-7, are now at Blizzard.

They were going after people with shooter experience so it's not a stretch to think that this could be shooterish.

Wonder if they'll push Planetside 2 into the margins the way they did EQ 2 with WoW

 

[jim-jam bongs]

It is a brand new IP. And I would surprised if it wasn't Facebook only (Blizzard doesn't want to do cross desktop/couch ports).

Fixed.

 

[ZealousD]

This is exactly what Blizzard should NOT be concentrating on.

Their trio is something you do not want to fuck with. Just leave it alone, Blizzard.

Why stick with only three hot selling brands when you can have four?

 

[epmode]

Never realized that there are 2 Diablo 3 expansions on that leak. Yay!...I guess.

Awesome Blizzard expansions are far better than the half-assed DLC disaster we've dealt with since the 360's launch!

 

[demosthenes]

why would they even want to make another MMO

they want to conquer the universe or something ?

Because people will eventually leave WoW for other, new games.

 

[StuBurns]

I would say the main motivation to make another MMO would be to put it on consoles. Making WoW 2 will always be a bad idea, they should iterate on current WoW forever.

 

[charlequin]

Of course dates for games are "planned ahead", but 15~20 projects with half-decade long development cycles all being tentatively aimed for specific quarters up to another half-decade in advance just strikes me as completely absurd.

When companies put together charts like this, they're not actually saying "we intend to release these products in these quarters," they're saying that they're working on (or in some form of preproduction on) all of these projects and this is when they'd be done and ready to ship if everything went as planned.

It's not really a tool for planning release dates, it's a tool for strategic allocation of development resources. It's really not that weird to generate a list like this.

 

[Max]

This will probably be the best MMO ever. Day 1.

I'm not even a fan of WoW.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

Them 'confirming' this rumor makes me think they either leaked that on purpose to generate hype or are just pulling our leg with it.

 

[clo1_2000]

But honestly, that far? For a company that essentially never announces release dates until a few months in advance, or until the beta is winding down?

And why the hell would the movie be targeted that specifically so far in advance, without any director officially attached?

It all just strikes me as vague educated guesses by any schmuck that's watched Blizzard for years. Agreeing with a leaked codename means virtually nothing.

At Cryptic we had information going out 3-5 years. At Intuit, PayPal and VeriSign, it wasn't uncommon to have 5-7 year plans for the executives.

 

[aktham]

I'm pumped for D3 like most. Everything else on the horizon is meh

 

[kodt]

I hope it fails terribly, making Blizzard-Activion to lose billions upon billions of dollars, creating a situation where they will be in so much financial trouble that they'll have no option but starting creating new IPs and continuing the Warcraft franchise.

It is kind of sad that we will never get Warcraft 4 unless WoW dies.

Of course, I like WoW so...

 

[Blast Processing]

I'll bet Titan is set in a hard sci-fi universe and about a human colony on Saturn's moon of the same name.

 

[Duki]

i thought it was strongly hinted at that this was a halo mmo fps

or something

 

[MomoPufflet]

I'll bet Titan is set in a hard sci-fi universe and about a human colony on Saturn's moon of the same name.

plzzzzzz

 

[Yaweee]

At Cryptic we had information going out 3-5 years. At Intuit, PayPal and VeriSign, it wasn't uncommon to have 5-7 year plans for the executives.

Fair enough. Guess I just don't have much experience with that kind of corporate development.

I still strongly suspect it is a fan fake. Slap some old date on there, list a bunch of rumored projects and codenames, and list any projects between the fake's creation and the date to flaunt a 100% accuracy rate.

 

[LiK]

Blizzard MMO with next gen graphics.

 

[Raxus]

Who are we kidding. Titan will be WoW 2.

 

[StuBurns]

i thought it was strongly hinted at that this was a halo mmo fps

or something

Seems unlikely. The canceled Halo MMO was also codenamed Titan though.

 

[Haunted]

Doesn't tell us anything. Blizzard knows that and thus, has no qualms confirming it.

i thought it was strongly hinted at that this was a halo mmo fps

or something

Not really.

Titan was supposedly the codename for the Halo MMO when it was still in development at Ensemble. It's a pretty common word (as far as codenames go ), and they wouldn't just continue to use the same codename for the same project when it switched developers.

 

[Max]

I'll bet Titan is set in a hard sci-fi universe and about a human colony on Saturn's moon of the same name.

Would rule so hard.

A scifi MMO without silly looking characters (SWTOR) would make me so happy.

 

[Yoshichan]

Blizzard MMO with next gen graphics.

What's next gen graphics?

 

[Corky]

Who are we kidding. Titan will be WoW 2.

this.


stop being naive people , you've bought your crack-cocaine, the blizz wont go out of their way to create a new drug. New package maybe, but not a new drug

 

[StuBurns]

this.


stop being naive people , you've bought your crack-cocaine, the blizz wont go out of their way to create a new drug. New package maybe, but not a new drug

Why? Why waste obscene amounts of time and money making a game that will take years just to make as much as the one you currently run? When you could make a different one, with a different audience and double the money you make?

WoW2 will never happen. It's pointless to compete with yourself.

 

[aktham]

It is kind of sad that we will never get Warcraft 4 unless WoW dies.

Of course, I like WoW so...

Blizz could go bankrupt and I would only be upset about Diablo franchise.

 

[Slayer-33]

Blizzard is going to take over the world if project Titan is more crackalicious than WoW.

Good god.

 

[TheOddOne]

When companies put together charts like this, they're not actually saying "we intend to release these products in these quarters," they're saying that they're working on (or in some form of preproduction on) all of these projects and this is when they'd be done and ready to ship if everything went as planned.

It's not really a tool for planning release dates, it's a tool for strategic allocation of development resources. It's really not that weird to generate a list like this.

You entered my mind and extracted that exact info.

 

[Yaweee]

- Don't expect a WoW2 any time in the next decade. They've commented publicly that they are discouraged by the poor record of MMO sequels. They eat their predecessors user-base or die-prematurely, neither of which is worth bothering with.

- I can't see Blizzard developing a console-only MMO. It would be like condenming their own games to a limited shelf-life linked to the life-span of the console. They still sell new copies of Diablo, War3, and SC1's Battle Chest. What console games have that type of shelf life?

- Don't expect Blizzard to ever make a game with truly cutting-edge graphics. They'd rather release games many people can run that look nice on the back of their great art-design.

 

[luffeN]

Didn't someone here say it's an MMO FPS?

 

[aktham]

What's next gen graphics?

PS360 standard or maybe a little higher. WoW looks like a PS2 game (not considering scale)

 

[speedpop]

I still strongly suspect it is a fan fake. Slap some old date on there, list a bunch of rumored projects and codenames, and list any projects between the fake's creation and the date to flaunt a 100% accuracy rate.

I don't know about that. MMO-Champion doesn't post crap on their website (the first big site to break the schedule) unless they know for sure that it is genuine.

This is the same website that posted a massive "leak" of details about Cataclysm that had many fans state that it was all a fake rouse created by Something Awful, when in fact many of the details listed prior are now confirmed to be true.

 

[Door2Dawn]

PS360 standard or maybe a little higher.

How the fuck is that next gen

 

[Yoshichan]

PS360 standard or maybe a little higher. WoW looks like a PS2 game (not considering scale)

Agreed, definitely looks like a PS2 game.

Stop living in the fucking past. WoW is still the best looking MMORPG out there, yes even better than that other game (can't remember it's name) from Square Enix.

edit: oh and too bad screens look like shit no matter what I do, stupid compression. I'd recommend actually buying Cataclysm and go to zones like Deepholm, Vash'jr or Uldum.

 

[Yaweee]

I don't know about that. MMO-Champion doesn't post crap on their website (the first big site to break the schedule) unless they know for sure that it is genuine.

This is the same website that posted a massive "leak" of details about Cataclysm that had many fans state that it was all a fake rouse created by Something Awful, when in fact many of the details listed prior are now confirmed to be true.

Yeah, I know MMO has a very good history, which I always assumed was due to his own leak sources inside Blizzard. His thoughts were:

Conclusion
The document is probably legit, even if it's already a little old it still confirms and backups a couple of information I already mentioned, and mentions the portuguese translation for the first time in public. Don't take it as a hard fact and don't bring it up too much on official forums but I think it's an interesting piece of information.

He doesn't sound too certain, and the three things he brought up as being good indications are, again, just mention of 3 other rumors/leaks he had heard in the past (Portuguese version, TCG, and Titan). It doesn't sound like his usual methods at all, and certainly isn't from the same source.

@Yoshi
Saying WoW is the best looking MMO is disengenuous. There are many better looking ones, it's just that most are (or were) unplayable buggy pieces of shit (see Age of Conan).

 

[Plissken]

Who are we kidding. Titan will be Universe of Starcraft

Fixed. They aren't going to make a sequel to WoW, they can milk that with expansions for another 5 years. They're already setting up the universe/lore for a Starcraft MMO with the 3 Starcraft 2 games, much like they did with Warcraft 3/Frozen Throne.