Blizzard and NetEase cancel World of Warcraft mobile game
Project was reportedly in development for three years, over 100 developers at the latter firm were disbanded
Activision Blizzard and NetEase have scrapped an unannounced World of Warcraft mobile spin-off, citing financial problems as the reason for the move.
A Bloomberg report unveiled that the title had been in development for three years, with business disagreements eventually leading to the project’s demise.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, over 100 developers assigned to the game were let go from NetEase, with an unknown number offered internal transfers.
The title, codenamed ‘Neptune’ according to the report, was aiming to be a mobile-based MMO spin-off set in the World of Warcraft universe, not a mobile port of the original game.
Neither company responded to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
Earlier this year, Activision Blizzard shared that it was planning "substantial new content for the Warcraft franchise," which included “all new mobile Warcraft content.”
The company also brought another core franchise to mobile recently with the June launch of Diablo Immortal, which surpassed $100 million in lifetime revenue last week.