The American publisher and developer Blizzard Entertainment is known for its blockbusters, but, according to the Windows Central portal, Microsoft will soon be working on smaller games.
Image source: BLIZZARD ENTERTINMENT
Windows Central sources reported that Microsoft and Activision have approved the creation of a new team within Blizzard, consisting mostly of employees from King (part of Activision Blizzard).
According to LinkedIn, the team already numbers 70 specialists. They will allegedly create AA games (that is, medium-sized ones) based on existing Blizzard franchises: Overwatch, Warcraft, StarCraft, and so on.
There are no specifics about target platforms. Although King specializes in mobile entertainment, Windows Central admits that games from the new Blizzard team will be able to run on PCs and consoles.
Windows Central sources report that in such experiments, Microsoft aims to achieve success with small teams already integrated into the company.
The Japanese Tango Gameworks, which released the popular rhythm action game Hi-Fi Rush, also fit into this paradigm, but Microsoft closed it in May. According to Windows Central, this happened due to the inconvenient geographical location of the studio.
Microsoft and other major publishers are concerned about the rising costs of developing AAA games, and closer collaboration between their studios is one way to cut costs.