After BlizzCon 2018, the public knows that Blizzard Entertainment partnered with NetEase to develop Diablo Immortal.
We also know that Cory Stockton — the World of Warcraft developer overseeing Pet Battles — joined a team that is working on a unannounced mobile game. The rumor going around these past years is Warcraft Pets-meets-Pokemon Go. But unproven.
So in short, we know Blizzard Entertainment is working on at least two mobile games (one of them Diablo Immortal, the other one presummably Warcraft-related).
There is a job opening that showed up again after several months since I last saw it. It has been bumped up again in the Linkedin Blizzard jobs page 20 hours ago that potentially gives us a hint that Blizzard is working with a partner to develop a mobile game.
The title of this job opening says: Senior Game Producer, External Development.
The title alone suggests work outside of the Irvine campus, traveling to meet up and direct a non-Blizzard team. Because I have seen this job opening before, the reason this job is external has nothing to do with the Covid-19 work-at-home policy.
Second, the job opening is listed not under the DIABLO category, but under the UNANNOUNCED PROJECT category.
Third, the job opening’s PLUSES section specifies: Mandarin Chinese language ability. This language is spoken in China, Taiwan, and Singapore — but it is possible developers that don’t speak english fluently might work locally in the United States which require this Senior Game Producer to be able to communicate directly without a third-person translator.
So we know with these 3 key elements in the job opening that it is not Diablo Immortal related (unless the secrecy here is due to a Diablo Immortal expansion or DLC pack which is not public knowledge), and/or that this developer is going to work with NetEase or different partners in the Asian market.
It is easy to misinterpret any of these key elements, so bare with me. But what is accurate is that this is a unannounced game and it is being developed in a collaboration between Blizzard Entertainment and an external partner(s).
We know that Blizzard is working on multiple Diablo projects as originally revealed by the-now-departed Diablo community manager Nevalistis on August 2018. We know of Diablo Immortal, Diablo IV, and [now that Warcraft III: Reforged is live] it is a no brainer that next in the remaster treatment is Diablo II — but that hasn’t been announced yet. The IGN Summer of Gaming organizers revealed that Blizzard Entertainment will participate in the livestream some time on June — which coincidentially is near the 20th Anniversary of Diablo II (June 29). Maybe there is a sliver of hope that the Diablo II Remake is announced there? Only time will tell.
But obviously, Diablo II is not a mobile game, so… is there room for yet another Diablo mobile game alongside Diablo Immortal?
Or can we assume that this unannounced game is related to Warcraft, StarCraft, or Overwatch instead? Intriguing.
Senior Game Producer, External Development
Unannounced Project • Irvine, California
Blizzard Entertainment is looking for an experienced senior game producer to support future projects. This role will include working in a co-development environment, with the unique challenges and opportunities that go with that. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success in external production and mobile game development/live operations, as well as extensive knowledge of AAA mobile games.
Responsibilities
- Work with internal and external teams across all disciplines, and craft, maintain, and communicate roadmaps and schedules.
- Oversee day-to-day development process and work directly with external partners.
- Assist with the creation, estimation, and tracking of feature submissions.
- Facilitate and maintain a healthy daily communication channel between internal and external teams.
- Identify, communicate, and help resolve all roadblocks and bottlenecks that may prevent an on-time and high-quality delivery.
- Collaborate with internal and external teams to guide features from concept to post-release (live operations).
- Act as the central information hub and clear out any communication blockers and misaligned expectations.
- Communicate effectively with leadership teams at all levels on project status, risks, and opportunities.
Requirements
- A minimum of 8 years of experience in a production role.
- Shipped multiple mobile games (AAA games preferred).
- Fluent in both internal and external mobile game development cycles, from concept to post-release.
- Exceptional spoken, written, and interpersonal communications skills.
- Solid ability to build, track, and maintain complex schedules.
- Exceptional knowledge and experience in mobile game live operations.
- Experience with Jira project management tools.
- Extensive knowledge of mobile game markets.
- Calm and deliberate within a highly dynamic, culturally diverse, energized, and fast-paced working environment.
- Comfortable with regular international travel.
Pluses
- A genuine passion for mobile games.
- Fan of Blizzard games.
- Mandarin Chinese language ability.
- Background in game design, engineering, or art.
Apply to this job here.
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