Why Warcraft Adventures Was Canceled

Diablo creator David Brevik admitted to IGN in 2018 that he is at least partially responsible for Blizzard’s decision to cancel the graphic adventure game based on the Warcraft series that Blizzard had intended to release. However, he cautions fans to not think too harshly of him over his decision to speak against the seemingly promising game. 

“Guys, this really isn’t kind of a modern game. It doesn’t feel like a big evolution in Blizzard,” said Brevik regarding his message to the studio heads over the development of Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. “It doesn’t feel like this is really something significant. It feels like a me-too product that doesn’t really have anything that’s revolutionary or anything that’s different, and it’s kind of a basic point-and-click adventure game. And I don’t think we should do this product.”

Brevik elaborated on his sentiments by noting that he wanted Blizzard to be the Ferrari of video games and not the GM of video games. In other words, he wanted every Blizzard product to feel like a high-end product that other studios simply couldn’t produce. In the end, the studio agreed. 

For those who may not know, Warcraft Adventures was a point-and-click adventure game set in the Warcraft universe. Blizzard brought in Steve Meretzky – creator of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy adventure game – to oversee the early design of the project and seemed to be devoting quite a few resources to it. That’s why people were stunned to read a 1998 press release in which Blizzard announced the cancelation of the project. At the time, budget reasons and the struggles of recent adventure games were believed to be the culprit. 

If you’re really curious about the game, though, you can play a mostly completed version of the game thanks to a recently released fan restoration of the project. Just be warned that some games are canceled for a reason.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.