The ultimate end of an era... what's next after WoW?

[Verawang]

After reading through a few articles on Overwatch and hearing about the few different projects Blizzard is currently working on or has just released (ie. Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, etc...) I began to think about the ultimate demise of some of the older franchise games that first gained Blizzard notoriety, namely SC, Diablo, and WoW.

At some point, do you think Blizzard will close the doors on these games in an effort to refocus its business and the allocation of resources into more contemporary titles (such as Overwatch) Do you think Blizzard would ever try to move into the VR space much like Valve has done?

My personal belief is Blizz will keep creating content for these legacy platforms as long as there is a sizeable user base/community and demand for that product. But all good things must come to an end, which leads me to my main question. What's next?

After SC, Diablo, and WoW have long become relics - what do you think is next for one of the most successful game developers out there?

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

[Denizly]

So long as WoW is this profitable, and SC a big e-sport, they'll never kill em.

D3 can be replaced with something similar.
SC can be moved to warcraft 4.

[Gadzooks]

MMO is still a growing field, but I don't see them propping the current games much longer - WoW is played out, and would require a complete reboot of the main story to keep going indefinitely, Starcraft possibly the same, Diablo definitely.

I think they'll try something along the lines of Titan again, with a new backstory and setting and theme, down the road.

Other than that, who knows? Fads in gaming come and go, who knows what will capture the market in the next couple of years.

[l33t]

SC3, Diablo 4 and lots of new expansions in WoW - that is what's next.

Sadly, new games are not for everybody. HS is quite good, but not everyone loves card games, and the game itself is very much RNG based. HoTS is just another MOBA, and not everyone loves the whole genre - me, for example, hate it with a passion. Overwatch looks great ofc, but it lacks depth - just another multiplayer-based shooter. So no, if I were you, I would not wait for Blizzard to close their old great IPs in favor of questionably good new ones.

[Kryos]

MMO is still a growing field, but I don't see them propping the current games much longer - WoW is played out, and would require a complete reboot of the main story to keep going indefinitely,

A universe with a galaxy full of planets and we only visited two of them (Draenor and Azeroth) - and maybe the third (Argus) soon. And there is time travel in this universe. How does this need a complete reboot? WoW is so open to new storys, new enemys and new storys like pretty much no other MMORPG ever.

[Deleted]

They may be shifting to other projects, but this isn't due to WoW's failings, it's still going strong, it'll likely never hit it's highs again but it will continue to, as Cata, MoP and WoD have shown, have it's ups and downs, WoD is actually presenting quite the up in terms of sub numbers.
So don't expect WoW to go anywhere, I think it would be kind of an insult to bring out a "WoW 2", honestly, due to it being sub based Blizz would be trashing all the monthly fees the ardent supporters had put in, so I don't see that happening.
It'll change into something entirely different but as long as it makes them money Blizzard have no reason to move on from it, they'll just update it as time progresses.
Diablo and Starcraft are different issues, they're not ongoing MMO's, they're series, they will end some day, but WoW's a different case, it'll stand at the forefront beside whatever other titles Blizzard bring out.

[Axelond]

Well SC2 is for sure coming to an end. The game was made as a trilogy and the final part is going in beta 31st of march. After LotV has released they might patch it a bit but they have announced zero plans of intention of continuing the series.

What will happen after legacy of the void? Who knows, maybe they will take a break and have another 12 year gap of content which they had between Starcraft 1 and starcraft 2.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Why would they close the doors to a cash cow such as WoW?

The day it is no longer profitable, they will close it. We still have lots of stuff to see otherwise in this game. Diablo and Starcraft? No idea, they're not mmos though.

[Drilnos]

That's kind of a long way into the future to look to. WoW might sunset in ten years, as a conservative estimate. It's often difficult to forecast what's going to happen in the industry within a couple years. We might all have brain implants by then. Who knows?

[Kazuchika]

These threads are comical.

You think Morhaime gets out of bed in the morning and goes "yknow.. I don't feel like making millions off a 10 year old game anymore."?

They will ride WoW until there is literally no one playing it which, even ignoring the WoD launch numbers, will not be any time soon.

[BarosanuNr1]

They could return the Warcraft franchise to the RTS genre (Warcraft 4) and make a new Starcraft MMO (lots of open ends to develop). This should buy them a decade.

[Armourboy]

Lets be honest, they still have plenty of life left in the old series they have, they aren't going anywhere. The do need to work on something new though because those that just sit and count the money end up with none eventually.

My guess though is they ride WoW until it just doesn't have support anymore, at which point they look at the market and see whats next. If MMO's are still a good way to make money they will make another, if not, they won't. I think even they realize they caught lightning in a bottle, and the chances of pulling that off again are slim and none.

[Littleraven]

Considering that Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm are built around their existing franchises...there is no way they will let them die in favor of newer IP. That doesn't mean they wont make new IP though. Once WoW is gone it will free up a TON of their workforce for newer games. That won't be for a long while but once WoW starts to taper off they will be able to shrink that team to send off to newer games.

[ro9ue]

For Blizzard? I don't know if there's going to be something after WoW... I see it living a long time.

For MMOs? Someone needs to do something awesome already.

[Deleted]

I hope in the next era they will make:

World of Starcraft (Maybe make it a 10 year project so that in 10 years you can release it after WoW became free-to-play (should be in 10 years))
Warcraft 4 RTS
Diablo 4 (Hope they make it more like bloodborne inside the diablo universe)

But i am worried that they will stop abit with AAA games and will turn there eye more on small free-to-play games (not interested in them at all)

[Televators]

WoW will be around for at LEAST several more years. For every person like me who has finally burned out on WoW for good, there are at least two that will hang on until the game's no longer supported, at least casually.

[Supertoster]

But i am worried that they will stop abit with AAA games and will turn there eye more on small free-to-play games (not interested in them at all)

HS and HotS both AAA and F2P games. And, as i think, Overwatch will be the same. All three games are great and have their niches. So dont worry)

[Deleted]

These threads are comical.

You think Morhaime gets out of bed in the morning and goes "yknow.. I don't feel like making millions off a 10 year old game anymore."?

They will ride WoW until there is literally no one playing it which, even ignoring the WoD launch numbers, will not be any time soon.

No but muh Vanilla WoW was the peak and WoW will never reach that height again and subs have been dropping because of FUCKING Kung Fu Pandas subscribe for more minecraft

[Bathory]

I'm guessing something with the new VR technology, absolutely.

[therealbowser]

So long as WoW is this profitable, and SC a big e-sport, they'll never kill em.

D3 can be replaced with something similar.
SC can be moved to warcraft 4.

Warcraft II and Starcraft original had similarities.

Warcraft III and Starcraft II (or Starcraft original, for that matter) are different like night and day are different. Warcraft 4 would not replace Starcraft. Ever. Sorry.

Why are we talking about moving on anyways? What's wrong with Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft, both thematically and conceptually?

This really just sounds like you're digging for an excuse for Blizzard to make Warcraft IV. Hey, I can understand where you are coming from, Warcraft III is my favorite RTS of all time. But it's not likely to ever happen. Let it go.