As per Schreier’s report, when Odyssey first started development back in 2017, Blizzard was using Unreal Engine for its production, though the team deemed the engine insufficient to support its ambitions to craft massive maps that would have up to 100 players playing on them together.

Following that, development reportedly shifted to Synapse, an internal engine that was initially developed for mobile games. Synapse’s toolsets were slow to catch up to the Odyssey development team’s ambitions for the game though, which meant artists continued to create prototypes in Unreal Engine, knowing that the work would have to be discarded later.

The report goes on to state that though members of the Odyssey team had hoped that they would be able to switch back to Unreal following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the requirements of the project were ultimately too high. Chiefly, a team that was already over 100 strong would have to be expanded significantly, after which a 2026 release would still be considered an optimistic estimate.

In his report, Schreier says the future of new, experimental projects that don’t belong to established IP is looking “uncertain” at Blizzard following Odyssey’s cancellation. Whether that means we’re unlikely to see anything from the company outside of the likes of Diablo, Warcraft, StarCraft, and Overwatch remains to be seen.

Along with layoffs (which have affected a vast portion of the Odyssey team), Blizzard Entertainment has also seen shake-up at the top, with president Mike Ybarra having announced his departure, and chief design officer Allen Adham also leaving the company.

As reported by The Verge, Blizzard Entertainment’s unannounced survival title has been cancelled. Matt Booty, Microsoft’s president of game content and studios, says the company will be “shifting some of the people working on it to one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of development.” It’s likely, however, that many who were working on the game will be impacted by the layoffs.

Blizzard Entertainment’s survival game, which has been in development for over six years, was officially confirmed to be in the works by the company in January 2022. Reports claimed that it would be called Odyssey, and would be a first-person experience with a fairy tale aesthetic.

Amidst the layoffs, it has also been confirmed that Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra is leaving the company.

As per Corden, the game will be called Odyssey, which is something he has previously stated as well. Though he isn’t completely certain on the title, he says he’s “90% sure” that it’s not just a codename. Meanwhile, he also goes on to reiterate that the game is unlikely to be a graphically intensive one, and will instead implement a stylized cartoony art style similar to the Overwatch games.

Corden also says the game is likely to be multiplatform, though he does clarify that this isn’t based on something that he’s specifically heard. He also added that based on what he’s seen, he expects the game to be really well optimized and run well even on the lower spec hardware of the Xbox Series S.

As for when the game might be announced, that remains to be seen. Corden says it’s “close to being completed”, while previous reports have also suggested that the game has been in development for several years, so there’s a chance that Blizzard might be gearing up for a full announcement in the not-too-distant future.

Thanks to Windows Central’s Jez Corden on the Xbox Two Podcast with Rand al Thor 19, we know a little bit more. Codenamed Odyssey, Corden said that the project looked somewhat like Everwild with aesthetics reminiscent of Fable Legends (along with saying that it looked amazing). Along with the fairy tale aesthetics, there are machines described as “sort of alchemy, almost steampunk.”

Along with base-building and crafting, players can open shops. One example is making potions and selling them to other players, though Corden doesn’t believe it’s an MMO. Instead, it’s more of a traditional survival game like ARK: Survival Evolved. Furthermore, combat is in first-person, and players can use a bow and arrow along with magic.

Odyssey doesn’t have any connection to other Blizzard properties – it’s a totally new IP. Corden saw footage of the title several months ago and it could “look very different now.” Furthermore, he has “no idea when it’s going to come out” or “when they’re going to debut it.” Hopefully, we’ll learn more when the next BlizzCon rolls around, so stay tuned.