There've been rumours that
World of Warcraft is getting a mobile spin-off for, ooh, a good year or so now. Most of them based on wishful thinking.
However, in recent weeks, several sources have tipped us off that
WoW-maker Blizzard Entertainment is intensifying its mobile plans.
Want proof? Click
here,
here and
here. They're job ads on the Blizzard site for, respectively, a lead mobile software engineer, a mobile software engineer, and an associate software engineer on the mobile team.
The first ad says this: "Blizzard Entertainment is looking for an individual to lead a mobile development programming team. The ideal applicant will possess outstanding communication and coordination skills and be capable of leading a group of programmers in bringing Blizzard-IP-related functions to the mobile space."
Apparently the candidate for the lead role needs to be experienced with MIDP and CLDC development on the J2ME platform, WAP and WML. The ad specifically mentions application development, but also the creation of mobile internet sites.
A plus would be an understanding of BREW, SMS and MMS, as well as Symbian and Flash Lite experience, which gives you a clue about possible directions for Blizzard's mobile plans.
It's exciting news for
WoW fans, especially if Blizzard plans to launch spin-off applications that'll enhance the core game, rather than trying to shoehorn it into a mobile version.
It's unclear whether sister company Vivendi Games Mobile will have any role to play in Blizzard's mobile plans, but rest assured, we'll keep you posted.
