"World of Starcraft" A remote possibility or reality?

[Jeremiah]

Starcraft II can be called a major success. Not only did it bring back the action-packed strategy that kept Starcraft fresh for years, but it gave us a whole new engine to play with when making our own maps and mods for the game.

Seeing that Blizzard spent so much time and money developing an entirely new engine for Starcraft II, you would think that they did so not only to keep their customers entertained with map making, but to invest in something for the long haul.

Have no idea what I'm talking about? Take a look at this:

This stunning engine can be applied to future titles. Considering that Blizzard is in the process of making their new MMO, I would be willing to wager that this MMO is based in the Starcraft universe, despite previous announcements by Blizzard that the title was outside all of their current universes.

It is likely that Blizzard will follow the same model that World of Warcraft followed:
1.) Release a successful RTS
2.) Follow it up with an MMO based off of that successful RTS

It is even more likely now that we see that they've spent over one hundred million dollars on the engine for Starcraft II alone. Blizzard's release of the engine map creator to the public is a way to test the waters and the potential of the system.

Let's face it, Blizzard is a corporation. They create things because it generates revenue. If you just take a look at some of the RPG and MMO maps that players have been creating with the Starcraft II engine, you can see that adapting the engine to an MMO would be nearly effortless.

Blizzard is gauging their players' interest in the Starcraft universe. They released a public poll on Battle.net that asks their customers which Starcraft world they'd like to live on if they could.

Why a sci-fi MMO? Well, Blizzard is going to be competing with the new "The Old Republic" MMO. If the 40K MMO isn't just more fan-base niche dead weight on THQ's back, then it will also be in great competition with TOR and Blizzard's new MMO (Which is undeniably Starcraft). Blizzard is going to have to get innovative here.

So what is the formula for market success in the brave new world of next gen MMOs? Researchers say that it is a feeling of immersion and "change". Moving beyond the static world of last gen MMOs to follow a formula similar to Bioware's games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, where the player's actions influence the entire continuity of the universe. Perhaps Blizzard's new "Starcraft" MMO won't focus on world-changing decisions, but I'm willing to bet they're going to use the engine for a whole lot of customization. Perhaps let players build and upgrade their own ships and vehicles, or even create towns and structures.

This is beyond speculation, folks. You heard it here first. If I lose this bet, I'll buy you a drink.

[Aldun]

Well we know Blizzard is working on a complete new MMO so I doubt it will come anytime soon (soon=within 8years?)

[Jeremiah]

Blizzard has ruthlessly denied things before and taken them back later. This isn't the first time. Make no mistake that WoW is still a massive beast in the MMO world, and one that generates a lot of revenue for the company. They won't quit it until it starts to deteriorate, and then they'll devote a special department of their company to release new content patches long after its reign as the king of fantasy MMOs. Take a look at Everquest, where content patches are still coming out.

[[Sadistic]]

where the hell did u get this footge???

[Net_Creator]

@Sadistic: The footage obviously comes from YouTube, and he didn't record it. Someone else, who was making a map, did. Just click the "View on YouTube" button in the bottom right.

[Woodlauncher]

It is even more likely now that we see that they've spent over one hundred million dollars on the engine for Starcraft II alone.

Just because they use the engine for SC2 does not mean that the MMO will be Starcraft-related. They don't have to make a SC MMO to use the engine..

Obviously you know this but by your wording it sounds as if they have to make it a SC MMO.

where the hell did u get this footge???

The footage is from a mod to SC2 and not WoSC..

[Namor]

This is probably the project "Next Gen MMO" they were talking about.
Look on their careers site, they're hiring coders and whatnot to help with it.

[Remus]

This is probably the project "Next Gen MMO" they were talking about.
Look on their careers site, they're hiring coders and whatnot to help with it.

Game development for anything is heavy code =/ , your posted statement being irrelevant. It's the same needing as 2d/3d artists, riggers, light engineers etc... to make stuff look next gen.

[Namor]

Meh I'm aware of this. The only place I've heard of the next-gen MMO being developed by Blizzard is on their careers page.

[Aldun]

Meh I'm aware of this. The only place I've heard of the next-gen MMO being developed by Blizzard is on their careers page.

Read my post above.. They already stated the new MMO was a totally new thing.

[Dragonshadow]

Where did you get the 100mill figure? They've only spend ~120mill on developing WoW. There's no way they could've spent close to that much on sc2, let alone just it's engine.

[Kubiatsu]

Dragonshadow is correct.

"Last week we reported on a Wall Street Journal article that tagged the development cost of StarCraft II at more than $100 million. According to Blizzard, it was a case of right price, wrong game. How much did StarCraft cost to make? Blizzard hasn't said, nor is it planning to any time soon. What Blizzard will tell us however, is that the $100 million figure that appeared in the Wall Street Journal is not correct. Apparently the WSJ got its games mixed up. The $100 million-plus figure in the article referred to the development and upkeep of World of Warcraft, its massively-multiplayer online game."

[chriahs]

Anything that makes money they will make, would you buy world of starcraft, i probley would blizzard makes good games (my opinion) and id like a (GOOD) shooter mmo.

[Kitsuji]

I thought at Blizzcon, Blizzard clearly stated that the new MMO was not going to be Starcraft. Thats just what I remember. But anyways, if it was to be Starcraft, I agree with Chriahs, we are in need of a good shooter MMO.

[Hofan]

Probably want to do more checking before you put up articles =/

Corrections and Amplifications - WSJ.com - wallstreet correcting their error

Blizzard's unannounced IP is an MMO- Destructoid - has a bluepost quote

"We have nothing to advertise for the new MMO because it's a shell of a game thus far,” he wrote. “We've already stated it'll be a brand new franchise, which means the lore, art, and game play are being developed entirely from scratch.”

btw that took about 3 minutes on google...

and for the record the stunning engine isn't so stunning when theres a hardcap on lag causing quite a few game types to be unplayable on sc2 itself (not that its really related since you were talking about them making a different product - that doesn't exist nor will it ever)