Present-day Blizzard may be a shadow of its former self, but its animation prowess still remains a source of pride. From the early days of World of Warcraft to the latest cinematic shorts for Diablo IV, the gaming giant has consistently delivered on the visuals front, prompting countless fan requests for some sort of adaptation based on their works.
As it turns out, it almost became a reality. In a Reddit AMA, short for “Ask Me Anything”, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier revealed that Overwatch, StarCraft, and Diablo projects were in the works with Netflix until Blizzard threatened legal action against the streamer.
“The book reveals they had series development with Netflix for StarCraft, Overwatch, and Diablo,” he opens in response to a question about the company’s plans to branch out into movies, TV, and animation. “But uh, …”
Hook, line, and sinker. Schreier went on to attach a link to a Variety story, covering news of Activision Blizzard’s lawsuit against Netflix after its former chief financial officer (CFO) Spencer Neumann allegedly breached his contract to become CFO of Netflix. Activision argued at the time that Neumman was less than two years into a three-year contract when he jumped ship, with the company claiming it had been granted rights to extend his contract to four years.
In addition to compensatory damages, the publisher also sought a permanent injunction to stop Netflix from “soliciting Activision’s employees who are subject to valid fixed-term agreements or inducing such employees to breach their valid fixed-term employment agreements”. Messy business, if we dare say so.
It’s unclear whether the plans for the series have been cancelled for good and what format the adaptations were supposed to be in the first place. While the loss of potential is disappointing as a whole, Overwatch fans, in particular, are feeling the brunt of it — the hero shooter already has a slate of impressive animated shorts (“Dragons”, anyone?), with other mediums like comics and short novels fleshing out the character lore and worldbuilding further.
Here’s to hoping the bag isn’t fumbled forever.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
Trinity Sun
