Maybe this is just an off year for Blizzard, but I think the company’s current problems run deeper than just a bad mobile game announcement.įollow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. Blizzard doesn’t have entries in any of those categories, even if Activision itself has a couple. But now, these days? The most popular games right now are single player story-driven games ( Red Dead, Spider-Man, God of War), PvE shooters ( Destiny, The Division, Anthem) and battle royale games ( Fortnite, PUBG, Blackout). This is a developer that aims to be number one in every genre it dips its toe in, and it has previously achieved that with MMOs, RTSes, CCGs, ARPGs and hero shooters with WoW, Starcraft/Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo and Overwatch respectively. In short, it feels like Blizzard is behind the curve, which is not a position it usually finds itself in.

This is why a Diablo 4 announcement would have been so significant, a truly new title in a sea of mere updates, but that game feels like it’s years away, and reportedly has gone through some pretty major overhauls behind the scenes, including a number of director changes, which isn’t the most reassuring. It’s sort of in League of Legends maintenance mode, simply rotating in new characters and events, having “won” the hero shooter war against all comers, but now the rest of the industry has moved on to battle royale. And even Overwatch, what’s more or less Blizzard’s flagship title in the current era, does not generate nearly the hype it used to with new announcements.

Hearthstone continues to be fine, but it’s a game I had to let go because it simply cost too much to keep playing. Heroes of the Storm was always playing catch-up to DOTA and League, and now MOBAs are mostly out of fashion. Starcraft might as well not exist anymore outside of its esports scene. I know all their games still have their devoted fans, but they do not feel all that relevant in the current cultural conversation with blockbuster new releases every few weeks.

This BlizzCon reminded me that most of their offerings feel somewhat stale at this point, at least to me personally. I have a…somewhat general feeling of unease about Blizzard in general lately. Elsewhere, we had a new WoW patch, a new Overwatch character and new additions to Heroes of the Storm. The biggest announcement of the entire event was the Warcraft 3 remaster, a re-release of a 16 year old game.

Diablo immortal booing at blizz con