Blizzard has canceled a World of Warcraft mobile game. The game, made in collaboration with Blizzard’s Chinese publishing partner NetEase, was in development for three years before a conflict about financing terms halted the project. the World of Warcraft mobile game was codenamed “Neptune” and was meant to be a mobile spinoff of the MMORPG.
The good news is that it’s not Warcraft Arclight Rumble the upcoming mobile “tower offense” game due to release later this year.
As far back as February this year, Activision Blizzard revealed that it was working on multiple mobile Warcraft titles, and this was thought to be one of the big reasons behind Microsoft’s acquisition of the company for a reported $69 billion earlier this year.
Now, it looks as though those mobile games may be up in the air after all, the extent of Activision Blizzard’s working relationship with NetEase following this high-profile cancellation is uncertain. Another of Activision Blizzard’s mobile games, a Pokemon Go-style AR game, was also canceled.
The cancellation comes at an interesting time as Blizzard makes a concerted push into the mobile market, developing original games for the platform. Back in May, the developer announced Warcraft Arclight Rumble a “mobile action strategy game,” and in June, it released Diablo Immortal, whose questionable monetization model hasn’t seemed to hamper its popularity. Blizzard and NetEase have been partners since 2008. The company co-developed Diablo Immortal, publishes Blizzard games like Hearthstone and World of Warcraft in China, and is a stakeholder in Blizzard’s Overwatch League, owning the current world champion, the Shanghai Dragons.
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