Blizzard is working on a survival game for PC and console set in "a whole new universe."
The untitled project marks a whole new direction for the studio best known for the classic action-RPG Diablo, the MMORPG World of Warcraft, the real-time strategy StarCraft, and the team-based shooter Overwatch.
"Blizzard is embarking on our next quest," Blizzard says of its new project. "We are going on a journey to a whole new universe, home to a brand-new survival game for PC and console. 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."
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Blizzard is calling for interested talent to apply to a number of key positions on the survival game's development team including senior character artist, level designer, and lead software engineer. More senior positions, like director and executive producer, already seem to have been filled, which would suggest the game is already conceptualized to some degree.
In some art accompanying the announcement, you can see a couple of characters looking out of a natural archway toward a towering castle. There's a single bicycle resting against some large rocks and what appears to be a modern-day city's skyline peering above the tree line. This is just speculation, but the art could suggest some sort of split world combining elements of classic fantasy with a more contemporary setting.
Blizzard only says it's coming to "PC and console," but it's anyone's guess which platforms it's referring to specifically. Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion last week, paving the way for all future Blizzard projects to be Xbox console exclusives, but Xbox has since signaled intent to keep some games multiplatform.
In the meantime, here are the best survival games to play right now.
