Blizzard President Mike Ybarra has posted a little end-of-the-year wrap, and in addition to confirming that BlizzCon is on track to return next year we got an update on the studio's upcoming survival game set in a new universe. The project was announced at the beginning of 2022 where all we got was a single piece of art and that it would be set in "a whole new universe" as a "brand-new survival game for PC and console".

Although the update didn't include anything in the way of new art or even gameplay information, a shame, we did learn that the size of the development team doubled over 2022. Oh, and that ex-Far Cry creative lead Dan Hay has joined Blizzard as "General Manager of Survival Game". He will be "leading the team which is infusing this genre with Blizzard magic while crafting our first new IP since Overwatch".

A big part of the update touched upon the culture at Blizzard and the changes being implemented to "rebuild the foundations" of the studio. "While we have full-time roles dedicated to culture, culture isn’t the work of one person or team," Mike Ybarra writes. "It involves all of us every day, and it requires perspectives and insights of different experiences, backgrounds, functions, and identities. To this end, we convened a culture team consisting of a wide array of functions across Blizzard who are helping us improve how we work, and create and sustain a culture that makes all of us better."

2023 is set to be a big year for Blizzard, with the arrival of Diablo IV in June and the long-awaited first-look at PVE content in Overwatch 2.