Blizzard is developing a Warcraft mobile game, due for release in 2022.
The mobile title was announced as part of Activision Blizzard's recent quarterly earnings report, which was delivered as a press release rather than a call on this occasion.
"Blizzard is 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 players’ hands for the first time," the press release reads.
This isn't a huge surprise as, back in 2021, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed in an earnings call that Blizzard had multiple free-to-play mobile Warcraft experiences in "advanced development" (via IGN)
"In our Warcraft franchise, we intend to deliver more frequent premium content to sustain and expand the World of Warcraft community," Kotick said to investors at the time. "And we’ve made multiple, mobile, free-to-play Warcraft experiences and they’re now in advanced development based on our franchise’s beloved IP."
So while Activision Blizzard hasn't been forthcoming with details on this new mobile content (which could potentially be more than one game), such as its release date, we do know it'll likely be a free-to-play experience.
Analysis: Blizzard's push into mobile
Blizzard appears to be pushing more and more into the mobile space in recent years. The developer has found success with Hearthstone on mobile devices, and is due to release the controversial Diablo Immortal sometime this year (following a delay). There have also been rumors that an Overwatch mobile game is in development (via NME). So it makes sense that the developer plans to bring another of its franchises to mobile in the future - whether it'll be a mainline or spin-off game remains to be seen.
It's likely the success of Activision Blizzard King's other mobile titles has encouraged Blizzard to enter the mobile space. The press release states that both Candy Crush and Call of Duty Mobile's net bookings grew year-on-year in the company's fourth quarter, with players worldwide spending over $1billion on Call of Duty Mobile. Overall, Activision Blizzard’s mobile net bookings grew 18% year-over-year and represented 33% of total net bookings in the fourth quarter.
It makes sense, then, that Blizzard wants to push more into the mobile space. But how Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard will affect these future mobile plans, remains to be seen.
