This announcement obviously comes at an interesting and troubled time for Blizzard. Several lawsuits allege that the studio and its parent company Activision Blizzard have a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. Last week, Microsoft announced their intent to buy the publisher for $69 billion. The purchase, if approved, would complete next year. The post is really more of a recruitment ad than anything else. “Do you like survival games? Do you want to join a collaborative team of experienced developers at the early stage of a new project in a new world…and help write the next chapter in Blizzard’s story?” it says. It specifically says that the project “requires a diverse team of developers willing to lend their voices, to listen and to be heard.” There are two pieces of concept art in the post. The one above depicts two people in regular clothes, seemingly in a city park, gazing into a fantasy world containing a castle on a floating island. The one below depicts a person crouched next to glowing footsteps, in a forest, and dressed in a feathered cape, tooth necklace and skull hat. While these images suggest the game is early in development, Blizzard lead Mike Ybarra tweeted to say that he has “played many hours of this project with the team.” This would be Blizzard’s first game set in a new universe since Overwatch in 2016. It would also be their first survival game. In another blog post, Ybarra wrote last week that Blizzard’s top priority was to “rebuild your trust”.
