Numerous developers from the survival game’s team have been unfortunately laid off without having a completed game on their resumes, and there is limited public information about the project.
Blizzard’s unnamed survival game, in development for over four years, faced cancellation after six years. Despite positive responses from current and former Blizzard employees, Microsoft’s decision to cancel the project resulted in job losses for its dedicated developers.
Matt London, the former associate narrative director, expressed his departure from Blizzard along with many others from the Survival team. Other departing developers include Marby Kwong, Ates Bayrak, Renato Iwashima, Michael Dale, Matheus Lima, Rachel Quitevis, and Megan Embree, a producer with 13 years of experience at Blizzard.
Craig Amai, the survival game’s director, also faced layoffs but is now focused on assisting the rest of the team in transitioning to new opportunities. In a LinkedIn post, Amai highlighted the exceptional quality of the team, recommending them for their talent.
Blizzard’s survival game was introduced as a unique world, distinct from any previous creations by the company. The limited released material, two pieces of concept art, showcased modern-day humans in a fantasy realm with a floating castle visible through overgrown forests and a hooded forest ranger. The crossover of these images suggested a premise akin to The Chronicles of Narnia.
Despite the cancellation, the game received praise within Blizzard, even during a period of heightened mistrust and anger over sexism allegations at the company. Social media reactions, including enthusiastic posts from employees, were not influenced by Blizzard, according to the company.
The survival game’s cancellation and the associated layoffs are part of broader job cuts across Activision Blizzard and other Microsoft gaming companies, totaling 1,900. Development challenges, including a switch from Unreal Engine to an internal engine called Synapse, contributed to the game’s slow progress.
Former Blizzard survival game developers now face the additional challenge of job hunting without a released game on their resumes and are unable to openly discuss their project. This situation adds to the complexities of the gaming industry, where having shipped games is often a requirement for job applications.