Blizzard's Survival Game on First Screenshots. It Was Canceled After 6 Years in Development Hell

As a seasoned gamer with years of experience under my belt, I must admit that the leaked footage of Blizzard’s Odyssey has piqued my interest significantly. The concept art and screenshots suggest a unique blend of survival, narrative-driven elements, and a captivating fairy-tale atmosphere – a combination that is rarely seen in today’s market.


To date, our knowledge of the “Odyssey” project has been limited primarily to early developer announcements and a single concept art piece shared by Carmen Lights. This was intended to be Blizzard’s survival game, but its cancellation resulted from Microsoft-imposed layoffs and technical issues with the graphics engine. Contrary to expectations, the team remained deeply invested in the game and maintained a positive outlook towards it, as discussed in our January article.

What was Blizzard’s Odyssey?

It’s quite possible that the game’s title was designed to rival titles like Valheim, while traces of inspiration from Minecraft and Rust could also be seen. A user on the Russian social media platform VK posted a series of nine images, allegedly from the game.

Odyssey’s footage, which leaked

The pictures show possible looks for the player’s character, diverse backgrounds, a resource interface, and the typical circular menu common in this game genre. One image with the quest name “Fallen Star” suggests that Team Survival’s development of this game might have emphasized storytelling aspects more than usual for this type of game. Here are some intriguing snapshots, all taken from the mentioned user’s post.

Blizzard's Survival Game on First Screenshots. It Was Canceled After 6 Years in Development Hell
Blizzard's Survival Game on First Screenshots. It Was Canceled After 6 Years in Development Hell
Blizzard's Survival Game on First Screenshots. It Was Canceled After 6 Years in Development Hell
Blizzard's Survival Game on First Screenshots. It Was Canceled After 6 Years in Development Hell
Blizzard's Survival Game on First Screenshots. It Was Canceled After 6 Years in Development Hell

According to the concept art and what’s clear in the game itself, it was intended to evoke a magical, storybook feel. As Games Radar points out, this is achieved through elements inspired by British folklore and fairy tales, along with references to the Cheshire Cat.

Odyssey – reasons for cancelling the project

The game was called off due to delays in development and complications with the graphics engine, as I mentioned back in January according to Bloomberg’s report. Initially, Team Survival opted for Unreal Engine, but higher-ups insisted on using Blizzard’s Synapse engine instead (a decision that often proves problematic…). That’s unfortunate news. This adds another title to the list of promising projects that have ended up in the “giant’s graveyard,” joining the likes of Warcraft Adventures.

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2024-09-09 21:32