In the wake of Microsoft’s recent layoffs, new information has emerged regarding the cancellation of an undisclosed survival game project by Blizzard. This revelation has sparked curiosity and speculation among gaming enthusiasts.
Following the most recent round of layoffs from Microsoft's Xbox division, details about Blizzard's in-development survival game, Odyssey, have now leaked online. Microsoft first announced the major layoffs earlier this week, reporting that 1,900 employees from the company had lost their jobs as a result. The layoffs reportedly saw particularly heavy impact on Microsoft's gaming division, with Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax reportedly seeing the brunt of the layoffs. Now, one of the casualties of the layoffs comes as an in-development survival game from Blizzard.
While not much is known about the game, Blizzard had reportedly been working on its own survival game since July 2017. Fans have heavily theorized that the game may have found itself in "development hell," with rumors suggesting that development of the game had only really ramped up over the past two years. Other speculation led fans to believe that the game may actually have been nearing completion, with Blizzard games known to boast long development cycles. Now, with the secretive survival game officially canceled, details of the game have begun to surface online.
As reported by PureXbox, several details about Odyssey have now surfaced following the game's unceremonious cancelation. Blizzard developer Johnny Cash referred to the game as "fantastic" and sang his praises for the work done by the game's team. According to reports by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Odyssey was set to play similarly to games like Minecraft and Rust with servers hosting up to 100 players. The game's engine was reportedly a particular point of conflict, with Blizzard requesting that the team use its in-house Synapse engine while members of the team wished to switch to Unreal Engine.
Blizzard's Canceled Survival Game, Odyssey
The unfortunate Odyssey cancelation comes as part of a major re-structuring at Blizzard as a result of the recent layoffs. Reports following the layoffs have suggested that most of Blizzard's customer support division was relieved from their duties, with Microsoft planning to outsource those jobs. Several community managers were also affected by the layoffs, with some suggesting that the layoffs have left many of Blizzard's live-service games without proper functioning support teams. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra would also leave the company following the layoffs.
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