The Microsoft purge of 9100 people and a growing list of games live and in-development games continues to widen this evening. We’d thought maybe Blizzard would escape unscathed, but no: The company has announced that it’s putting Warcraft Rumble into maintenance mode. Does it use those words? No. But that’s what this is.
“After much deliberation, we’ve arrived at an extremely hard decision,” the company says. “Moving forward, we’ll continue supporting Rumble with updates focused on regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes, but no new content.”
In case you’re wondering, yes, that means layoffs, though the memo is oblique about it, suggesting that it’s “hard to sadly part ways with” some members of the team, on whose support the remaining staff are now apparently focusing.
Readers will recall that Warcraft Rumble was first introduced as mobile strategy battler Warcraft Arclight Rumble back in 2022, though it began soft-launching in 2023 as Warcraft Rumble. In his hands-on, MOP’s Justin called it “slick but shambolic,” a good game that needed a lot more work. It even came to PC at the end of last year. But longtime players will agree that its development was spotty (we used to get angry social media comments from former Rumble fans for giving it coverage!), and indeed, Blizzard even acknowledges its struggles.
“Since launch, Rumble has struggled to find its footing relative to our ambition for its long-term success, and for some time now the team has been listening to player feedback, refocusing in certain areas, and exploring different options. Some of that work showed signs of progress, but ultimately wasn’t enough to put the game on a path to sustainability.”
Our condolences to the staffers and fans affected.
