Blizzard Legend Mike Morhaime's New Adventure: Wildgate Blasts Off – But Can It Survive the Live-Service Graveyard?

AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer · Wed Jul 23 2025

Mike Morhaime, the Blizzard co-founder, has launched a new sci-fi live-service game called *Wildgate*, which looks shiny but faces an uphill battle in the crowded live-service market; here's hoping it brings something new to the table.

Right, so Mike Morhaime, the bloke who helped bring us *World of Warcraft* and *Overwatch*, is back in the game, launching *Wildgate*, a new sci-fi live-service shooter. Fair play to him, that's a brave move considering the state of things, eh? According to Eurogamer, this isn't just some weekend project; it's being published by Dreamhaven, the studio Morhaime co-founded, and developed by Moonshot Games, one of their two development teams. The other lot, Secret Door, just dropped *Sunderfolk*, a tabletop-inspired RPG, which sounds rather smashing, too.

*Wildgate* itself? Think colorful, cartoonish space battles where you and your crew are "prospectors" hunting for a mysterious artifact. You either snag the artifact and bug out, or you blow up all the other ships. Seems straightforward enough, but we all know the devil's in the details, doesn't it?

Morhaime's been quoted as saying the open beta response was "incredible" and that *Wildgate* represents what Dreamhaven believes games can be. Optimistic chap, which is refreshing. They've even got a roadmap with bi-weekly updates and seasonal content drops. Now, here's the kicker: they're promising that any in-game purchases will be purely cosmetic and optional. Sounds good on paper, doesn't it? (But what happens when the bean counters start sniffing around, eh?).

Here's where my inner skeptic starts twitching. The live-service graveyard is littered with games that promised the moon but crashed and burned quicker than you can say “loot box”. Eurogamer rightly points out that *Splitgate 2* (not related, apparently) is going back into beta *after* launching, which is… unusual. And remember Sony's *Concord*? Gone after just two weeks! Two weeks! That's barely enough time to learn the controls!

Sony's supposedly still committed to live-service games like *Marathon* and *Fairgames*, but even they're scaling back their ambitions. The cold hard truth is that a handful of games – *Fortnite*, *GTA 5*, *Roblox* – are hogging all the oxygen. So, is there room for *Wildgate*?

Morhaime's pedigree is undeniable, and a cosmetic-only monetization model is a breath of fresh air in a world drowning in pay-to-win nonsense. But… it’s a tough market out there, mate. *Wildgate* needs to offer something genuinely unique and engaging to carve out its own space in the cosmos. It's got the pedigree, the promise of a fair monetization system, and a vibrant art style. Whether that's enough to survive the live-service wars? Well, I reckon we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

Tags: Wildgate, Mike Morhaime, Live Service, Dreamhaven, Sci-Fi Shooter

Original article: Eurogamer