Blizzard Registers Mysterious Domain Name

[MikeWehner]

Blizzard Registers Mysterious Domain Name

Does Titan have a new name, or is Blizzard working on yet another unannounced project?

In an industry where projects are worked on for months or even years before we hear anything about them, internet domain registrations are sometimes our first hint at what a company is working on. The always enigmatic Blizzard has just offered one such clue, registering the rather mysterious domain "Project Blackstone."

The website itself [http://www.projectblackstone.com] is as dead as can be, and the company, predictably, isn't ready to divulge exactly what it relates to. Could it be a new codename for Titan, the upcoming MMO currently being worked on? Or perhaps it's the early title for a new World of Warcraft expansion. Heck, it could even be a mobile game for all we know - the possibilities are endless.

Blizzard's most anticipated upcoming project is of course Titan, an MMO that has allegedly been in development since as far back as 2007. In March 2011 Blizzard COO Paul Sams revealed that Titan was in a playable state, noting that the game was "the most ambitious thing" the company had ever worked on.

But as far as Project Blackstone, we'll just have to wait for either the domain to spring to life or the company itself to reveal the reason for its existence. Theories are welcome in the comments, and the wilder, the better.

Source: Fusible [http://fusible.com/2012/11/blizzard-entertainment-registers-the-domain-name-projectblackstone-com/]

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[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Considering the Black Soulstone was an integral part of Diablo 3, I'm going to present the theory that "Project Blackstone" is a currently unnamed Diablo 3 expansion.

 

[Kopikatsu]

I don't think it's likely to be another MMO. They still have so much money they can milk out of the WoW fans. Why risk cutting into those profits with overlap?

 

[snowfi6916]

And both projects will have always online DRM.

I wish Blizzard nevet got bought by Activision.

 

[thejackyl]

My first thought was: Blackstone... that sounds familiar to a game they made a lone time ago... It was Black-something... Oh, right Blackthorne. Nevermind it probably has nothing to do with that.

Probably a D3 expansion.

 

[LordLundar]

Where are you getting Titan being the name of the new game? Titan is the codename for the new game being developed, not the title.

And game journalists wonder why there's such a low opinion of their capabilities as of late.

 

[Rituro]

My first thought was: Blackstone... that sounds familiar to a game they made a lone time ago... It was Black-something... Oh, right Blackthorne. Nevermind it probably has nothing to do with that.

Probably a D3 expansion.

My first thought was Blackthorne as well; I wouldn't be so hasty to throw it out as a non-starter. Yes, it's a dated '90s platformer-shooter but it had a decent story to it. I'd be willing to see it get a new treatment.

 

[Aeshi]

Considering the Black Soulstone was an integral part of Diablo 3, I'm going to present the theory that "Project Blackstone" is a currently unnamed Diablo 3 expansion.

This is probably the most likely theory.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Is Titan really in development? I mean, at this point it just seems like it's something Blizzard is poiting at when people critizise them for being lazy.

Considering it took them three years to finish what is essentially an expansion of Starcraft 2, I don't think teasing an ephemeral game project is doing them any favors in the fight against being called lazy.

 

[Covarr]

Does it really matter what it is? Blizzard hasn't exactly inspired a lot of confidence as of late, and customers would be wise not to give them money unless they like getting screwed over.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Artemis923]

Blizzard is dead to me.

Starcraft II wasn't too bad...but I'm not Korean, so I can only play the game so much.

Warcraft is beyond repair; WoW has gone from a global conflict between man and orc to kung fu pandas and pokemon.

Diablo...that was the nail on the coffin. I waited 11 years for that game. Years of Ba'al runs, and CS runs, and Meph runs, and hardcore grinding and looting...

...and D3 was what they gave me. I don't think I've ever been more crushed or disappointed in a game to that degree, ever.

So...fuck Blizzard.

 

[JarinArenos]

Where are you getting Titan being the name of the new game? Titan is the codename for the new game being developed, not the title.

And game journalists wonder why there's such a low opinion of their capabilities as of late.

And the low opinion by journalists of their readers... "Titan" is a shorthand. You'd prefer that they spell out "Blizzard's un-named upcoming MMO project" every single time, when we already have a name to call it?

 

[Domogo]

One thing for sure its not going to be warcraft 4

and now I am sad again

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Unless it's Warcraft 4 (and it isn't) we don't have anything to discuss, Blizzard.

 

[Tom Goldman]

If it's a D3 expansion...that wouldn't be the name would it? If it's not the name, why grab the website? What kind of Blizzard product would be called something that sounds like a codename?

 

[Atmos Duality]

Considering it took them three years to finish what is essentially an expansion of Starcraft 2, I don't think teasing an ephemeral game project is doing them any favors in the fight against being called lazy.

Agreed.
Though I refuse to believe in any rational, logical capacity that it would take them 3 fucking years to make an expansion.
I find it more likely that they are terrified of launching their own products anywhere near each other (chronologically) because they seem to think that they exist in a one-market scenario.

(that is, that their only customers are repeat customers, and tapping them for cash too often will cause a sharp decline in sales figures overall. Either way, it suggests something is deeply disturbed behind closed doors at Blizzard.)

Because I can tell you right now, you don't need 3 freaking years to playtest for balance.

 

[Alar]

As many people are stating, it sounds very Diablo-y.

There was another domain they registered recently as well. Warcraftbattles or something like that?