Morhaime: 'Hope to see you at #blizzcon 2013.' [Announcement Speculation Thread]

[KrazyK923]

LotV will be referenced.
The next WoW expansion basically has to be confirmed unless MoP is going to be way longer than previous expansions.
The Diablo Expansion will probably be announced.

I don't think Titan will be, yet.

[BenBos]

The OP forgot BAS: Blizzard All Stars the DOTA like game.

Morhaime already said they will launch BAS in 2013 after the latest SC2 expansion.

Or better, he said they would focus on BAS as their new launching product after SC2.



Sadly BAS is also the reason why D3 doesn't have a proper PvP mode yet.

Blizzard splits up BNet over different forms of play/

SC2 and BAS: the hardcore PvP esports. One in space the other with Blizzard heroes.

D3: the simple casual H&S fantasy grinding game with adaptable challenges.

WOW and Titan to fill in 2 slots of MMORPG play: one fantasy based, the other even more focused on fast/casual internet play with the new social media as a back up.

Each of these products have their own target audiance.


Each one will get attention, but frankly until further notice WOW will stay the big huge milking cow with at least 2 more expansions in the following 4 years to come.

If a complete free to play new MMORPG can't even touch a subscription based WOW, it is all clear WOW is here for the next decade (probably with grahpics enhancement and other forms to keep it getting played like combo subs with other games and e-sports competitions)./

[Soulstrike]

I feel like I am the only one not excited almost at all about that titan game... Have a feeling it won't be something I would enjoy too much, rather have all that team work x3 more times on WoW instead :P

your not alone, im really enjoying wow and sc2 atm and cant wait for more delicious info from next expansion, yes titan info will be nice but not really keen for it (lets just say cherry on top)

[KrazyK923]

Sadly BAS is also the reason why D3 doesn't have a proper PvP mode yet.

The teams are completely different.

[Bombkirby]

Perhaps it'll be about Blizzard's DoTA game as people have said before. Its pretty mysterious and they should have made lots of progress on it by now.

[SherbertLand]

But then where is the proof? I've known most people here long enough that they like to lie more than being truth, its very hard to believe those posters nowadays. I don't want to get tricked with hopes that we suddenly get a lot of extra patches, when it'll turn out not to be.

So you would rather think this expansion will last a year?

[Xe4ro]

WarCraft 4 ! ... :/

[Zaqwert]

Diablo 3 was the biggest POS Blizz has ever made and if they think people will get excited for an xpack made by the same group of clueless buffoons who made the main game, they are going to be sadly mistaken.

They should just cancel anything D3 related at this point and focus on other things.

[kassy]

wow expansion, titan.

I think the people expecting a legion wow expansion next is gonna be in for a surprise tho.

[Penguintamer]

New character models, because why not.

[Coldpro]

If blizzcon is this year, it would be too soon to announce the new wow X-pac.

So gimme titan info :<

Not really, considering Blizzcon was skipped last year. This would be the second year with no new xpac info. So you're basically saying we're going to go until a 3rd blizzcon (3 years) with no new xpac info. Blizzard gets flamed for an xpac lasting 2.

[Theodon]

Perhaps it'll be about Blizzard's DoTA game as people have said before. Its pretty mysterious and they should have made lots of progress on it by now.

I'm not so sure a PvP game made by Blizzard would go down well. People will (rightfully) look at WoW PvP balancing and general setup and use that to judge what DOTA could potentially play out like. I can't see it being a good thing.

I would put my bet on more Starcraft stuff, more Titan hype with some previews of artist illustrations and an ingame model or 2, and some D3 patch information. Perhaps they will also touch on their plans for the next WoW expansion.

[Deleted]

wtb new info about next WoW x-pack and Titan.

[SherbertLand]

I'm not so sure a PvP game made by Blizzard would go down well. People will (rightfully) look at WoW PvP balancing and general setup and use that to judge what DOTA could potentially play out like. I can't see it being a good thing.

I would put my bet on more Starcraft stuff, more Titan hype with some previews of artist illustrations and an ingame model or 2, and some D3 patch information. Perhaps they will also touch on their plans for the next WoW expansion.

If they were smart enough to see how other titles by Blizzard did, they would be smart enough to realize why pvp was unbalanced and not have an issue if it was a pvp focused game.

[Deleted]

I just really want to know what Titan will be. It's been bugging me for bloody yonks!

[Falrinn]

I'd say an expansion 5 announcement is a sure bet. Because of how early MoP was released in the year, expansion 5 will probably be even further along in development then MoP was when it was announced.


We might also get a first look into Titan, nothing comprehensive just yet, but a few basic points on the overall direction Blizzard wants to take the game. So we'll find out things like the actual title (Titan is just a codename and may have nothing to do with the game itself), a synopsis of the plot, and very basic mechanical things like what sort of faction system it'll use. We won't see a complete list of available classes, a playable demo, or anything beyond the simplest maps of the gameworld.

[Kissme]

What ho,

This could be a huge year for Blizzard enthusiasts, with lots of potential massive announcements.
Let's discuss what titles we think we'll see announced this year, and when they will be released.

I'll start:

Legacy of the Void (Starcraft 2)
Released early 2014

With HotS out in March, this is an obvious announcement at this year's Blizzcon. Considering they must have learned a thing or two from the slow development of HotS, I think it is fair to say LotV will be out faster than we think. But then again, they might be greedy douchebags and want to milk HotS for as long as possible.

Unnamed Expansion (Diablo 3)
Released late 2020

Considering how slowly the Diablo 3 development team works, I wouldn't be surprised if the expansion was released in time for my unborn son to play it. However, I think it is fair to say that the expansion will get a teaser at this year's Blizzcon. It would be a great way for them to get the consumers excited about playing again.

Burning Legion Expansion (WoW)
Released early 2014

Every second year we see a WoW expansion pack announced, and I very much doubt this year will be any different - particularly considering how they skipped Blizzcon last year. The only thing that could make this a wrong guess is if they decide to announce it earlier in the year and release it already around Blizzcon (assuming it is in the fall), to shorten the time between expansions.

Project Titan
Released late 2014

This really is the difficult one. Blizzard's next-gen MMO has been in development for five years, and with every Blizzcon in recent years people have predicted its unveiling and been wrong. The fact that Blizzard took two years off from Blizzcon might suggest that they wanted to get to a certain point with the game before unveiling it, and that we'll see it this year. However, they've also said that they want to announce games closer to release nowadays in order to prevent disappointments and unfulfilled promises, so it's not entirely implausible that we won't see anything for another year or two.

Your turn!

Seeing as money from Starcraft expansions is one time revenue, they can't "Milk" Heart of the Swarm in any meaningful way. The way Starcraft is setup, the faster they put out the expansions, the better it is from a profit perspective. If they were truly greedy douchebags they'd release it roughly 3 months after Heart of the Swarm just to get a secondary push on HoTS sales for people deciding to join in.

I'm guessing maybe a year gap until we see Legacy, which means early to mid 2014. It will be fun, but nothing special. If you like Starcraft 2, you'll enjoy it.

The Diablo 3 expansion will probably come out earlier than 2020. They've made a lot of changes to Diablo 3, but they squandered a lot of good will with how the game was on release, and until they figure out how to make the item hunt fun while still having an auction house, they're going to be fighting an uphill battle. We'll get a teaser, but they'll likely release the D3 expansion late 2014 to early 2015 because D3 hasn't had the staying power they hoped for and an expansion might revitalize the franchise.

The next WoW expansion won't likely be seen until mid to late 2014, possibly even early 2015. The only way you might see an early 2014 release is if sub numbers show significant drops in the next quarterly report. This is based entirely on historical trends, seeing as expansions average in the 650 to 700 day range (Vanilla 38 months TBC 23 months Wrath 25 months Cata 22 months). Even if they miraculously make MoP last 18 months only, you'll still see the next expansion in mid 2014, and the current release rate of raid content is following the same trends as old expansions rather than showing significantly faster release.

I could see this being the big announcement for Blizzcon, but depending on how subs go for the current expansion, it might be hard to hype any new WoW expansion or it might be completely unneccessary.

Titan is a mixed boat in every sense. The fan generated hype based on little to no information is almost going to guarantee that Titan is percieved as a failure regardless of how good it is. I would like to see a teaser trailer for this project at Blizzcon, but I still see it as doubtful based on what we've seen and heard so far. As for a release date for Titan - until they give us a teaser, I wouldn't want to guess, but if forced to hazard one, I'd say 2015 release timed to coincide with Xmas, so basically a 4th quarter 2015 release.

As for what's most likely - I'd say we'll see a D3 expansion hype, a HoTS tourney to keep SC2 interest up, and news regarding a WoW movie. The reason I say movie is that they'll want to try and get the movie out while WoW is still at a high point in it's popularity and that popularity has become increasingly arguable as the franchise ages (this is natural for any product). I also expect that we might get some teaser announcements regarding a Warcraft 4. I think that a return to the RTS part of the Warcraft franchise might be a natural move at this point, as it would allow establishment of lore in an easy to digest form and would be a great way to compliment WoW while establishing a Burning Legion tie in. This could also help produce some positive goodwill as the RTS side of the Warcraft IP is still held in a holy grail type of regard and thus has PR credit to spend. This will be accompanied by some minor news regarding the next WoW expac, but it will be very thin - probably a bit of concept art and a lot of statements about how it's going to be leet and awesome with no details regarding the nuts and bolts of the expac.

[Harnace]

I don't really play WoW anymore so any WoW info is not interesting to me. I'm mostly interested in hearing something about Titan and some info about the Diablo 3 expansion.


Oh and the wow movie? Or did that get cancelled?

[Serpenth]

My predictions.

WoW:

Expansion 5 announced for Q2 2014. Playable demo and new talent trees.

Starcraft 2:

Sneak peek at legacy of the void. Maybe some videos but that's about it.

Diablo 3:

Expansion 1 announced and that's it. Minimal footage and pictures. Mostly storyline details and new hero introduction. They say it will be out in Q3 2014 but it won't come until Q1 2015.

Blizzard All Stars:

Announced, introduced with playable demo. Expected release Q1 2014.

Titan:

Nothing.

[Deleted]

Seeing as money from Starcraft expansions is one time revenue, they can't "Milk" Heart of the Swarm in any meaningful way. The way Starcraft is setup, the faster they put out the expansions, the better it is from a profit perspective. If they were truly greedy douchebags they'd release it roughly 3 months after Heart of the Swarm just to get a secondary push on HoTS sales for people deciding to join in.

You forget the immense profits they gain from adverts and free publicity at eSports tournaments, etc. This stuff is broadcast on TV-channels and streaming-websites worldwide, and even sells out major arenas from time to time. The longer each iteration of Starcraft 2 is relevant and popular, the longer they can wait with releasing expansions, and the longer the game will be kept alive. This also pushes back the eventual development of Starcraft 3, which also saves them a lot of money.

In short, developers want their games to last as long as possible. That's the main reason they delay HotS and LotV. Implementing ten new units, a new campaign, and re-balancing parts of the game hardly takes an experienced crew over two years.