One from Bloomberg to the report According to Blizzard, the World of Warcraft mobile game has been canceled. The game, made in collaboration with Blizzard's Chinese publishing partner NetEase, has been suspended after a conflict over funding terms. The project had been in development for three years.
According to Bloomberg, the World of Warcraft mobile game was codenamed "Neptune" and was expected to be a mobile spin-off of the MMORPG.
The news of the cancellation comes at an interesting time as Blizzard has taken a responsive leap into the mobile market by developing original games for the platform. In May, developer Warcraft announced Arclight Rumble as a "mobile action strategy game" and in June released Diablo Immortal, whose monetization model did not hinder its popularity despite complaints from players.
You may be interested in: Blizzard Warcraft Arclight Rumble Announced as Warcraft's First Mobile Game for iOS and Android!
Diablo Immortal earned $24M in two weeks from in-game purchases
Diablo Immortal got off to a strong start, raking in over US$24 million in its first two weeks. This revenue from microtransactions was protested by many players for its "pay to win" policy.
Blizzard and NetEase have been partners since 2008. The two companies co-developed Diablo Immortal, and NetEase publishes Blizzard games like Hearthstone and World of Warcraft in China. The company is also part of Blizzard's Overwatch League, which owns the current world champion Shanghai Dragons.