Blizzard is apparently planning to ride the phenomenal success of Niantic's Pokémon GO and is reportedly developing a World of Warcraft game in the style of the hit augmented reality app.
The news comes despite the lukewarm reaction for Diablo Immortal, one of Blizzard's latest attempts to bolster its position in the world of mobile gaming.
Blizzard Is Making Its Own 'Pokémon GO'
As Kotaku reports, an "incubation department" at the studio is said to be working on a Warcraft mobile game heavily influenced by Pokémon GO. It's not certain to what extent Blizzard plans to emulate the hit game — whether it'll simply port elements and call it a day or further improve upon the game's AR elements is up in the air.
Lead designer Cory Stockton, also of World of Warcraft, is reportedly a massive Pokémon fan, and Kotaku notes that many Blizzard employees play Pokémon GO competitively at the campus on a daily basis. Interestingly, the Warcraft project is said to have "a lot more to it" than the app it'll take inspiration from and will apparently include single-player elements. Pokémon GO, it should be noted, also has single-player elements, but it's undoubtedly more focused on getting trainers to interact with each other.
Why Is Blizzard Making Its Own Take On 'Pokémon GO'?
Which elements Blizzard plans to integrate into its own version remains uncertain, but it's fair to assume the company likely realized that the spinoff could generate massive revenues, which Blizzard can then use to fund other projects. One such project is Diablo IV, which had changed and evolved throughout the years but apparently is still being worked on.
Diablo Games Under Development
The report notes that Blizzard's forays into mobile gaming won't interfere with the development of Diablo's next major installment, likely because they're under separate teams. A part of Diablo's main team is working on the current iteration of the fourth game currently codenamed "Fenris." It will apparently shed the franchise's more cartoony elements and be much darker and serious than Diablo III. However, it seems the game is far from finished and likely won't be released until 2020 or much later.
Whether or not this Pokémon GO-style Warcraft game is meant to tide Diablo fans over as they wait for the release of the franchise's next mainline entry remains nebulous, but it's interesting to see how this game would pan out, especially since part of Pokémon GO's appeal is its built-in nostalgia. Does Blizzard have that kind of power with Warcraft? Time will tell.
