Blizzard Entertainment caused quite the stir today when it announced the cancellation of Project Titan, it’s MMORPG that was hyped to be the successor to World of Warcraft. Several analysts have weighed in with their own take on the news, according to Games Industry International.
Independent analyst Billy Pidgeon was optimistic about the cancellation, stating that it’s better than releasing a sub-par product and that the same years of work could be learned from.
“Development costs for Titan may have amounted to tens of millions, perhaps $50 million or more. This is not an unusual event, however. Blizzard has cancelled several games in various stages of development in the past. Costs for unreleased games can be significant, but launching substandard games can harm the reputation of a successful publisher such as Blizzard. Expenses for development can be considered R&D, and benefits can include invaluable training, IP and technology that can be applied to other games.”
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter also believes that Project Titan’s development costs total more than $50 million. However, he believes that taking into account an estimated 100 to 200 people drawing an annual salary of $100,000 each, this actually amounts to a “sunk cost” of $70 million and $140 million. “It’s pretty sad that it took so long to figure out how bad the game was. I expect them to go back to the drawing board.”
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