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Blizzard Talks Next MMO Project "Titan"

Blizzard COO Paul Sams drops a few general nuggets about the studio's next MMO.

It’ll be a long, long time before we hear something meaningful about Blizzard Entertainment’s next MMO, a project titled “Titan.” World of Warcraft is still successful enough, and keeps the pressure off of Blizzard to reveal its next big thing. But Blizzard COO Paul Sams did have a few interesting details to share about his studio’s next MMO in a recent interview with Gamasutra

"I believe [it's] the most ambitious thing we've ever attempted," Sams shared. "And I feel like we have set our company up to succeed on that. We have some of our most talented and most experienced developers on that team. Many of the people that built World of Warcraft are full time on that other team,” he revealed.    

  

   
   
== TEASER ==Sams added that the existing crowd of World of Warcraft developers are seasoned, too, having spent time learning from the more senior dudes being shifted to "Titan." They’ve been iterating on the game for years without the aid from their teachers and will keep up that support for years to come, Sams said.

"We're very confident in [“Titan”]. It's an awesome one," Sams said. "We're playing it already. It's a total ball to play. We think that the reach of that product is greater than anything that we've done before. We're very excited about that," he added. "I believe that it's the type of game that will have a very long life, much like World of Warcraft has." Big words, eh?
  
Because it’s still so early in the development process--and because it’s Blizzard--there’s no release window for “Titan.” But Sams did say that it’ll appear after Diablo III, whenever that gets out the door either late this year or at some point in 2012.    

104 Comments

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BradNicholson

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Edited By BradNicholson

It’ll be a long, long time before we hear something meaningful about Blizzard Entertainment’s next MMO, a project titled “Titan.” World of Warcraft is still successful enough, and keeps the pressure off of Blizzard to reveal its next big thing. But Blizzard COO Paul Sams did have a few interesting details to share about his studio’s next MMO in a recent interview with Gamasutra

"I believe [it's] the most ambitious thing we've ever attempted," Sams shared. "And I feel like we have set our company up to succeed on that. We have some of our most talented and most experienced developers on that team. Many of the people that built World of Warcraft are full time on that other team,” he revealed.    

  

   
   
== TEASER ==Sams added that the existing crowd of World of Warcraft developers are seasoned, too, having spent time learning from the more senior dudes being shifted to "Titan." They’ve been iterating on the game for years without the aid from their teachers and will keep up that support for years to come, Sams said.

"We're very confident in [“Titan”]. It's an awesome one," Sams said. "We're playing it already. It's a total ball to play. We think that the reach of that product is greater than anything that we've done before. We're very excited about that," he added. "I believe that it's the type of game that will have a very long life, much like World of Warcraft has." Big words, eh?
  
Because it’s still so early in the development process--and because it’s Blizzard--there’s no release window for “Titan.” But Sams did say that it’ll appear after Diablo III, whenever that gets out the door either late this year or at some point in 2012.    

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imsh_pl

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Edited By imsh_pl

please
EDIT:I love you Blizzard <3

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Malakhii

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Edited By Malakhii

Won't sell as much as wow.

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deactivated-629f1111f1060

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Wow!

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walterkovacsv

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Edited By walterkovacsv

double you oh double you

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TehJedicake

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Edited By TehJedicake

Hopefully it won't be carebear like WoW is

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Example1013

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Edited By Example1013

This comments section is filled with failure so far.

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KillerBears

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Edited By KillerBears

Which one of those details were supposed to be interesting? That the project has a code name?

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RE_Player1

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Edited By RE_Player1

I still wanna jump back into WOW, I got a lvl 74 character now, but hearing that they are making a new mmo makes me hesitant. 

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kyrieee

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Edited By kyrieee
@TehJedicake said:
" Hopefully it won't be carebear like WoW is "
Forget it. They're not including world PvP in Diablo III, not even as an option. No way their next MMO will be more hardcore than WoW.
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behelit

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Edited By behelit

WoW has sucked since end of TBC, and Blizzard has sold-out.

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Krakn3Dfx

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Edited By Krakn3Dfx

Well, there go the other half of the PC gamers that were actually buying a game on the platform occasionally.

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babylonian

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Edited By babylonian

Dude, Nicholson, how is there no speculation that this is World of Starcraft? Not only did they shut down a fan-made mod with that name in Starcraft II, but THE PROJECT IS FUCKING CODENAMED "TITAN." COME ON, MAN. 
 
Blizzard is smart. They're either hinting that this is World of Starcraft, or they're messing with us and this is a red herring.

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Dan64

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Edited By Dan64

No Caption Provided
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zityz

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Edited By zityz

Basically what they're saying is "We're going to see how popular this Guild Wars 2 thing takes off and go from there"

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ch13696

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Edited By ch13696

You know what? Hearing about news stories, and this goes with any news outlet, that talks about how the developer is excited about their game, is getting pretty annoying. 
 
Yeah, we get it. They're happy about their game. Who wouldn't be happy about their own game? Now, let's hear some news about what this game is about.

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Bunnyman

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Edited By Bunnyman

I'm extremely curious to see what they come up with. 
I have to assume that they hope to keep their WoW-players on WoW, so this could be something for those who left WoW, or never even cared to try it out. 

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zagzagovich

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Edited By zagzagovich
@Babylonian: 
They are trying to fool you. It's Blackthrone MMO set 200 years after the events of the original.
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csl316

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Edited By csl316
@Dan64: lol, my go-to image.
 
Can't wait for this to come out and watch half my friends disappear for a year.  Boo, MMO's!
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Shakermaker

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Edited By Shakermaker

World of Starcraft seems the safest bet, but would that mean it is a shooter? 

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Dan64

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Edited By Dan64
@csl316:  
 
I use it WAY too often.
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Jimbo

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Edited By Jimbo

Bungie + Blizz = Titan = Console (& PC) subscription MMOFPS (?!?!) $$$$$$
 
I am going to keep calling this until it turns out I'm wrong.

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buft

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Edited By buft

im setting up a blizzard monthly direct debit, i just want them to have my money

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Jayross

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Edited By Jayross

Space?

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Krenor

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Edited By Krenor

is there a way to give Blizzard my bank account number and password, I just want them to be able to get my money whenever they can, all of it if that's what they wish

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Deusoma

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Edited By Deusoma

I bet this is going to be that MMOFPS that Bungie is working on in secret. I'd love to see a shooter with a Blizzard setting and writing and Bungie's creamy-smooth controls.

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raiz265

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Edited By raiz265
@Jimbo said:
" Bungie + Blizz = Titan = Console (& PC) subscription MMOFPS (?!?!) $$$$$$  I am going to keep calling this until it turns out I'm wrong. "
I hope you're wrong :( 
 
But anyway, BLIZZARD!!! HUZZA!!!!
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deactivated-5b531a34b946c

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I bet this is the last we hear about [Titan] until at least E3 2012, if not 2013.

Also, the "Blizzard has sold out" comment made me laugh. I mean.. Really? They make well over $150 million a month. "Selling Out" means you change your image and or message so a big corporation gives you money

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LordXavierBritish

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If this doesn't completely rip apart every MMORPG convention WoW has built up as the genre standard then color me uninterested.

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MightyMayorMike

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Edited By MightyMayorMike

Damn, kind of hard to get excited when the only details released is a Blizz guy basically saying nothing except, "Yeah, be excited!" On the one hand, Blizzard is probably the only company that could pull me back into an MMO. On the other, with the state that WoW is in now (not against the casual slant, it's just not for me), I could see this "far-reaching game" missing a lot of more serious players like me.

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Pop

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Edited By Pop
@Dan64 said:
"
No Caption Provided
"
exactly what I was thinking xD 
I was hoping they would say what kind of game it is, since they said they were playing it already.. assholes they really know how to get to me.
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citizenjp

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Edited By citizenjp

It's aboot time.

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Evilsbane

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Edited By Evilsbane

Blizzard why must everything you do make Valve seem like they put out games every other week.

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Agent47

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Edited By Agent47
@Jimbo: What the hell does Bungie have to do with any of this?
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xpgamer7

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Edited By xpgamer7

I think the only way it'll be as popular as WoW is if it has better graphics and is "The New Best MMO" and new MMO players flock to it over time (Eventually beating WoW by sheer time) or it'll allow old WoW players to move their profile, items, character, and EVERYTHING ELSE over.

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kyrieee

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Edited By kyrieee
@Babylonian said:
" Dude, Nicholson, how is there no speculation that this is World of Starcraft? Not only did they shut down a fan-made mod with that name in Starcraft II, but THE PROJECT IS FUCKING CODENAMED "TITAN." COME ON, MAN. 
 
Blizzard is smart. They're either hinting that this is World of Starcraft, or they're messing with us and this is a red herring. "
They've said that it's a brand new IP
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meteora

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Edited By meteora

Although I want a World of StarCraft (I would play the shit out of that), I recall Titan being exclusively a new IP, as in it has nothing to do with StarCraft, WarCraft and Diablo.

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melcene

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Edited By melcene

Interesting that [Titan] is far enough along that the devs are already playing it.  The comments about the reach of the product imply that it's based on a world more well-known, or at least more new-player friendly, than the WoW universe.

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Regal

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Edited By Regal
@Babylonian said:

" Dude, Nicholson, how is there no speculation that this is World of Starcraft? Not only did they shut down a fan-made mod with that name in Starcraft II, but THE PROJECT IS FUCKING CODENAMED "TITAN." COME ON, MAN. 
 
Blizzard is smart. They're either hinting that this is World of Starcraft, or they're messing with us and this is a red herring. "

They have already confirmed numerous times that it's a new IP.  
 
Even if they hadn't they would still not actively quell rumors that it's "World of Starcraft" because that is so stupid that no one would believe it.   
 
They may have been bought by Activision but come on, a stunt like "The World of Starcraft" would if not outright destroy Blizzard then reduce it's standing and wealth considerably. I guarantee you they are not that stupid. Don't worry about it.
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SilverShadow

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Edited By SilverShadow

Keep in mind that Blizzard has stated that "Titan" will be a brand new IP and they are making it so that it doesn't compete with WoW and vice versa. Basically, it is not going to be World of Starcraft. However, you could make a strong argument that whatever universe "Titan" will be in, that universe could be "future sci-fi" or maybe even a modern day era in a different dimension. Its safe to assume that it won't be a universe like WoW's where everyone has swords, pauldrons, staves, etc. Since that would potentially be competing with WoW. All in all, we know how "fast" Blizzard can put out games, so don't expect this game soon. I would predict Q4 2013 at the very earliest.
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Crono

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Edited By Crono

Blizzard being Blizzard. Telling us absolutely nothing but still getting us extremely interested.

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melcene

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Edited By melcene
@Xpgamer7 said:
" I think the only way it'll be as popular as WoW is if it has better graphics and is "The New Best MMO" and new MMO players flock to it over time (Eventually beating WoW by sheer time) or it'll allow old WoW players to move their profile, items, character, and EVERYTHING ELSE over. "
This is what people said about Everquest.  And WoW surpassed it in the first month.
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Cincaid

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Edited By Cincaid

As someone who just barely managed to quit WoW for good, I must admit I'm both extremely interested and frightened!

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beomoose

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Edited By beomoose

Gaming Steve (back when he was active) used to say he expected "Titan" in 2014-15. He said 10 years of WoW was the goal, so far so good.

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deactivated-6418ef3727cdd

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This all means nothing... awesome news. Empty quotes that could be about the world's largest hamburger. 

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deactivated-5ffc9b0923f9f

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BREAKING NEWS! Blizzard says their next game will be awesome!
 
Would they really say different?

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J12088

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Edited By J12088

No details have been shared. You lied.

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Jimbo

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Edited By Jimbo
@Agent47 said:
" @Jimbo: What the hell does Bungie have to do with any of this? "
They're partnered with Activision-Blizzard for the next ten years.  I think there's room for a WoW-sized MMOFPS in the market -if you can make it happen on consoles- and if you did want to make that happen, I don't think you could ask for a better collaboration than Bungie and Blizzard.  Titan would be an appropriate name for such a project.
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deactivated-5ba16609964d9

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Can't wait for my children to play that game when they turn the big 50.

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MaddProdigy

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Edited By MaddProdigy

Since it is literally impossible to produce an MMO that does not compete with World of Warcraft, either the two would have to be integrated in some way (which I can completely guarantee is not the case even though I have nothing to do with Blizzard), or they are releasing it after they are done releasing WOW expansion packs. 
 
WOW xpacks will be done around 2013, after the two more they said they were going to make. So I'm calling it now;
 
Q4 2011 Diablo release 
Q1 or Q2 2012 WOW Expansion #4 
Q1 or Q2 2013 WOW Expansion #5 
Q4 2013 maybe TITAN....probably Q1 2014 though 
 
Anyone who thinks it will be released before then does not know business. And obviously does not know Blizzard, because Blizzard has proven they know their business and would never let their products compete. They also take insane amounts of time with everything they do, so my schedule is probably off by about a year. Also, World of Starcraft...most ludicrous idea ever typed onto the internet. 
 
Does anyone agree or disagree? 
 
Edit: I forgot about Starcraft expansions too. Depending on development cycle for those, TITAN may be looking at a late 2014 or even 2015 release.