Microsoft and Activision have reportedly established a new game development team. It will focus on first-party projects with smaller budgets and will work as part of Blizzard Entertainment.
StarCraft II
A number of Microsoft Gaming employees have switched their LinkedIn profiles from King to Blizzard over the past few weeks, according to Windows Central. Sources told the publication that this comes after Microsoft and Activision approved the establishment of a new team within Blizzard.
Here are the key takeaways from the report:
- The new Blizzard teams comprises mostly of developers from King, a studio best known for its multi-billion Candy Crush franchise;
- According to Game Pass Tracker, over 70 employees have already updated their LinkedIn profiles, including senior creative director George Andreas and technical director David Otero Cuadros;
- The team will work on AA games based on Blizzard’s existing franchises (given King’s mobile expertise, these projects could target iOS and Android, but there is a chance for PC and console titles, as well);
- “Microsoft is keen to explore and experiment finding success out of smaller teams that are also integrated with the larger org, almost Nintendo-style for seamless collaboration,” Windows Central says;
- One of the reasons is the rising development costs for AAA games, so the company reportedly wants to find a way to leverage its IPs using fewer resources;
- The idea is to have smaller, agile teams that don’t operate risky budgets and don’t have communication and other issues inherent in large studios.
Earlier this year, Activision also established a new internal studio called Elsewhere Entertainment. Unlike the new Blizzard team, it will focus on AAA games. The studio’s first project is described as a “narrative-based and genre defining” title based on a new IP. Elsewhere is also headquartered in Poland, which should help the company reduce costs compared to its US divisions.