Blizzard’s Titan Has 100 Developers

Blizzard has revealed that 100 developers are now working on its next MMO project, codenamed Titan. In an interview with Curse Entertainment, Blizzard chief creative officer Rob Pardo said “Titan’s still moving along. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up that it’s around the corner or anything. It’s a very big project. It’s got a long ways to go. We don’t know yet when we’re going to really start releasing more information. We’re definitely dead in the middle of development at this point. I think we’re over 100 people now on the team working on it.”

When asked about rumors that Titan has been in development for six years, Pardo commented that “It depends on how you look at such things. When we first start a team, we start it really, really small. We might start with just a couple people. We talk about the concepts, we draw some concept art. It definitely has not been in core development for that long. I’d say core development is maybe closer to four-ish years, but even that was with a smaller team.”

We first heard hints of Blizzard’s next MMO back in December 2007, when Blizzard said its new MMO isn’t related to World of Warcraft. Blizzard later began hiring developers and WOW lead designer Jeff Kaplan began working on the project. Blizzard said in 2010 that the project was a long way off and the codename Titan emerged later that year.

Last year, rumors suggested Titan would be shown at BlizzCon, but were later debunked by Blizzard. The last time we heard the title referenced was during an Activision Blizzard earnings call last month when it was referred to as “an all-new MMORPG in the future” in reference to Blizzard’s release calendar.

Little is known about Titan, and it sounds like we might still have a long time to wait before concrete details are revealed. In the meantime, Blizzard released World of Warcraft’s Mists of Pandaria expansion earlier this week. For our thoughts so far, read our Mists of Pandaria review in progress.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

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Mark of the Ninja Coming to Steam

Klei Entertainment's highly regarded stealth game Mark of the Ninja will soon be available on Steam. Released through Xbox Live earlier this year, this PC version will be available on October 16.

According to IGN's Ryan McCaffrey, who reviewed the Xbox Live version of Mark of the Ninja, "Mark of the Ninja is among the finest stealth games you can currently play."

Did you already check this out on Xbox, or are you looking forward to trying it out on your PC?

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Mr. Ed Returns as CGI/Live-Action Hybrid

Waterman Entertainment is looking to adapt the classic television series Mr. Ed into a feature film. The company also recently bought the rights to The Brave Little Toaster, hoping to breathe new life into beloved children's properties.

"We are identifying properties that have had success with multiple generations of parents who feel comfortable and have excitement about reintroducing the characters and storylines to their own kids and grandkids," said executive producer Cooper Waterman. "While each property remains independent of each other, they will share the commonality of addressing social values, morality lessons, and characteristics that are clearly identifiable for kids with comedic elements for all age groups."

The original TV show centered on the exploits of a talking horse, Mr. Ed, and his klutzy but affable owner Wilbur Post. Current plans are to adapt the series into a live-action/CG hybrid movie.

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Obsidian's Project Eternity Gets Kickstarter Funding

Project Eternity, the new Kickstarter-funded project from Obsidian Entertainment that was revealed last week after a teaser countdown, has hit its fundraising goal in under three days.

Since launching on Friday with a target of $1.1 million, funding for the isometric, party-based RPG is currently sitting at around $1.5 million.

As a result of this, the company has introduced a number of 'stretch goals'; funding thresholds that, if reached, will mean the developers will expand upon their original vision for the game thanks to the extra funding.

While the base game was due to launch with three races, five classes, and five companions, once funding passed $1.4 million this morning, the company promised to increase this to four races, six classes and six companions.

Should funding hit $1.6 million the game will be made available on Mac and a new major storyline will be added. At $1.8 million, there’ll be a further new playable race, class, and companion, while crossing the $2 million mark guarantees the addition of player housing.

The final announced stretch goal is at $2.2 million, when Obsidian will introduce a new region, faction and another companion as well as Linux, apparently. More surprises have been promised should funding hit $2.4 million, but the company clearly doesn't want to jinx anything with 29 days still to go.

Also on the horizon is the prospect of the game becoming DRM free, and the addition of a new $5,000 tier as it apparently sold out too quickly. With all the backer rewards currently being slated for an April 2014 delivery, we can assume that that's when the game is aimed for. We just hope that adding all these extra goodies doesn't lead to any delays!

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and chronic RPG-oholic You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Australia's iGEA Cautiously Welcomes New R18+ Guidelines

The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA) has cautiously welcomed the final Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games, which come into effect January 1, 2013.

“We, along with many other stakeholders, have worked for many years to have the classification scheme acknowledge that adults play and enjoy video games and are due the respect of a classification category that reflects ‘age appropriate’ content for adults," reads a statement released by the iGEA. "The new guidelines released today show that they have been crafted to try to balance the concerns of those who have resisted an R18+ classification and adults who want to play video games designed specifically for mature audiences and that are readily available in other developed democracies."

The statement, however, does goes on to criticise the new guidelines for holding games to stricter criteria compared to film and maintaining the interactive nature of video games increases the impact of various classifiable elements.

“Given the opposition to the introduction of an R18+ category from a vocal yet unrepresentative section of the community, along with a largely conservative group of Attorneys-General, it is no surprise the new guidelines hold video games to a higher standard across a number of categories compared to film and what originally existed for video games," continued the statement.

“As we have previously stated, we are concerned with the acknowledgment in the guidelines that interactivity has greater impact on players, despite the Federal Attorney-General’s office publishing a literature review in September 2010 that found no evidence to support these claims. There will be continued debate about whether the interactivity of video games has a greater impact than other forms of media, and we will continue to refer to the lack of the evidence to support these claims."

The iGEA expressed these same concerns on the release of the amended draft guidelines in November last year.

The iGEA will now "wait to see" how the Classification Board will go on to interpret and apply the newly revised guidelines and "trust that they will reflect the standards of morality, decency and propriety accepted by reasonable adults, not just the vocal ones."

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The Watch Discovers Blu-ray and DVD

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will bring director Akiva Schaffer's latest comedy, The Watch, to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download November 13, 2012. The sci-fi comedy, formerly titled Neighborhood Watch, stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade.

Despite the star power and 'Burbs-like vibe, the film didn't quite catch much love from critics (read our review here), nor did it find much of an audience during its theatrical run. The Watch grossed a mere $34 million in the U.S., with a worldwide total of just $47 million.

The Watch Blu-ray will feature a 1080p transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The DVD will boast an anamorphic widescreen transfer with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio. Extras include the following:

• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Alien Invasions & You
• Casting the Alien
• Theatrical Trailer
• Sneak Peek
• Jonah Alternate Takes (BD Exclusive)
• Watchmakers (BD Exclusive)
• DVD and Digital Copy (BD Exclusive)

Suggested retail for The Watch is set at $39.99 for the Blu-ray, and $29.98 for the DVD. The title is available to pre-order on Amazon. The Blu-ray is currently listed for $35.99. The DVD is listed at $26.98.

Be on the lookout for more news regarding The Watch, and be sure to check back for a review of the disc this November. In the meantime, be sure to check out this interview with the cast:

"Enough! You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I shall not be bullied..." Become a friend of R.L. Shaffer on Twitter, Facebook or MyIGN for quotes, rants, reviews, news and more!

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