Fans have speculated for some time that Blizzard Entertainment would create another massive multiplayer online game, given the unprecedented success of World of Warcraft, the age of WoW (it celebrated its third birthday at the end of November), and Blizzard's possession of two other enticing series's to build an MMO around - Starcraft and Diablo. After ducking these rumors for months, Blizzard has finally confirmed that they are working on a new MMO.
After a slew of new job openings were posted on Blizzard's website, the World of Warcraft forums were filled with debate over what new project was in the works. A Blizzard community representative - one of the moderators that forum monkeys swear at because WoW crashed after twelve continuous hours of play - nixed rumors that the openings were for another World of Warcraft expansion (in addition to the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King). "No, it is an unannounced Next-Gen MMO," the rep said, with no further elaboration. No other details were offered up by Blizzard and whatever project it is, it's years away.
While it could be a completely original MMO, I imagine Blizzard would rather use Starcraft or Diablo as a starting point, given the extensive amount of lore (and fans) that already exist for each series. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, the expansion to Diablo II and the most recent installment in that series, ended with the Worldstone being destroyed by Baal (good times). We're lead to believe this would result in some radical change to the world. In other words, it leaves the setting a blank slate for developers to build into an MMO.
Starcraft, as the series currently stands, would be a tough fit for an MMO because the three principal races don't really mingle - it's just open war. That might work if it was an MMO first person shooter (like PlanetSide) but I'm assuming Blizzard will make the new MMO an MMORPG and not stray too far from the ridiculously successful formula of WoW. With that in mind, Starcraft would need a little work for that setting to be RPG-friendly (in other words, make social interaction between different races possible). Maybe that's what Starcraft 2 will set up. Blizzard seemed to make Warcraft III with WoW in mind; in WC3 they ret-conned orcs so they weren't just bloodthirsty savages and set up the uneasy truce between the Alliance and Horde. Starcraft's sequel could serve the same role for a Starcraft MMO, perhaps introducing additional races and a key hub planet for an MMORPG to centered around. There's nothing unfixable about the story, especially with the massive financial potential of such a game. Both series's have huge followings and an MMO based on either would give Blizzard a strong chance to maintain its dominance of the massive multiplayer scene.
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Fans have speculated for some time that Blizzard Entertainment would create another massive multiplayer online game, given the unprecedented success of World of Warcraft, the age of WoW (it celebrated its third birthday at the end of November), and Blizzard's possession of two other enticing series's to build an MMO around - Starcraft and Diablo. After ducking these rumors for months, Blizzard has finally confirmed that they are working on a new MMO.
