Blizzard announces new survival game

Blizzard Entertainment, a seasoned studio known for its iconic franchises such as Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo, has just announced that they are working on a brand new game and the first new universe since Overwatch, which was released back in 2016.

The new game is still labelled as an "unannounced survival game" and it hasn't yet been officially announced. Rather, on 25th January 2022 Blizzard had a "soft" reveal, via their job listings for the new game.

Nonetheless, the "create a new universe with us" announcement has a few images that might tell us a few details about what this game might be.

What is Blizzard's new survival game?

The hiring announcement confirmed that this new survival game is set in a brand new universe. This means that it doesn't have any connections with Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, or Overwatch.

This new world is described as a "place full of heroes we have yet to meet, stories yet to be told, and adventures yet to be lived. A vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored."

The announcement also confirms that the game is being developed for both PC and console, with no mentions of mobile.

From the images shared in the announcement, we can safely assume that the game is set in a universe that combines a modern urban environment (as evidenced by residential buildings seen above the forest) with fantasy worlds.

In the first image, two kids wearing modern clothes are about to enter a portal to a world with a flying castle, while in the second image we see a druid/ranger female character amidst some ruins in the forest with what looks like some sort of a magic mirror.

According to the announcement, the game is still in the early stage of development, and Blizzard is hiring engineers, artists, and designers to help them on the project.

And while the article states that the game is still early in the development process, Blizzard chief Mike Ybarra tweeted out that he has already "played many hours of this project with the team," which implies that the game apparently already has some playable version.

The announcement comes just a week following the historic acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for $68.7 billion and it is the first new game revealed by Blizzard since last year's allegations of sexism, harassment, and a toxic working environment.

For this "next chapter in Blizzard's story" the troubled developer wants to hire "a diverse team of developers willing to lend their voices, to listen and to be heard," which is a message that, hopefully, heralds a positive change in the company.

• Read more: Is WoW coming to Xbox Game Pass?

Featured image courtesy of Activision Blizzard / Microsoft.