Back in 2007, Blizzard Entertainment embarked on a journey to create a new MMO called Titan, aiming to replicate the massive success of World of Warcraft.
Years later, in 2014, they had to admit that Titan wasn’t going to happen. According to an excerpt from Jason Schreier’s upcoming book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, shared by Polygon, Titan was meant to be a mix of two games. One part was an action-packed superhero adventure where players could battle villains, while the other was like The Sims, where characters lived normal lives, got jobs, and even cooked meals. But making these two parts fit together was a puzzle Blizzard couldn’t solve.
Rob Pardo, who was Blizzard’s vice president of game design back then, ended up taking much of the blame for the problems. It seems he wasn’t very involved in Titan’s development, focusing on other projects, but when he did step in, he often rejected what the team had already worked on. In the end, after so much effort, Titan was shelved with little to show for it.
Even though Titan never saw the light of day, some of its superhero elements found a new home in Overwatch, which became a huge hit for Blizzard. Most of the work on Titan, though, remains locked away, serving as a reminder of how tricky game development can be.
Fans often wonder what could have been if things had gone differently.
For those interested, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment is set to be released on October 8.
