Blizzard announced that they will be revealing their new Warcraft mobile game on May 3rd, at 10 AM (PT, Pacific Time). The new Warcraft title comes after years of story draught and innovation in the Warcraft universe, and following a disastrous launch of Warcraft 3: Reforged.
Blizzard has shared the reveal date on their official Twitter account:
Blizzard also posted on their official World of Warcraft news website about the upcoming reveal:
The WarcraftÂź universe continues to capture imaginations across the globe with enlightening experiences and immersive gameplay, that are the foundation for World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. We are happy to present a new mobile game for the heroes of Azeroth looking to play on the go, and we canât wait to get it into your hands.
Mark your calendars and set your alarms as we unveil the next rewarding mobile experience designed from the ground up for mobile devicesâyou wonât want to miss it.
May 3 it is.
Warcraft Mobile: Everything we know at the moment
Blizzard told investors earlier this year that they are “planning substantial new content for the Warcraft franchise in 2022, including new experiences in World of Warcraft and Hearthstone, and getting all-new mobile Warcraft content into playersâ hands for the first time.”
We know that the title has been in development for years at this moment, or at the very least since 2017. Blizzard’s job listings posted in 2017 revealed they were looking for a FX Artists interested in creating imagery for an unannounced mobile project set in the Warcraft IP universe.
We also know â from the same job listing (archive.org link) â that the project uses Unity 3D as its underlying engine. In fact, the job’s requirements list reveals the exact tools that the applicants will be using in the creation process.
Unsurprisingly, Photoshop, Maya and Unity are involved:
- Experience with creating consistently charming, eye-catching, real-time effects (FX) using Photoshop, Maya, and in-game FX systems with 3+ years experience and at least 1 shipped title.
- Must be familiar with creating FX in the Unity game engine
- Skilled in developing effects that work across a wide range of mobile platforms (looks great on the newest phones but still holds up on a variety of mobile devices)
- Superior eye for lighting, value, color, details, and the ability to use them in creating beautiful visual effects that support gameplay
- Self-motivation, excellent communications skills, and able to work within a small team
- Positive attitude and able to receive and provide objective feedback
- Passion for creating imagery synonymous with the Warcraft IP
We also know that the official image showcases a cog, which seems a rather obvious nod to Gnomes and Mechagnomes in World of Warcraft.
Jason Schreier, the infamous gaming industry press journalist, shared on Resetera that there could potentially be two Warcraft mobile games coming â one Pokemon GO, one other Clash-ish one. He also shared that he heard good things about both (source).
It is unclear at the moment to which of these two games this announcement is related, but .
The industry insider seem to be certain that the PokĂ©mon GO-like Warcraft game was cancelled a while ago. We think this is a good thing honestly, there have been far too many games trying to replicate the success of Niantic’s AR game. Most have failed, and we’re happy to see Blizzard avoid the same mistake made by other game developers.