An Overwatch and Diablo animated series are in the works according to Nick van Dyk, President of Activision / Blizzard Studios, on linkedin.
Nick van Dyk
President, Activision | Blizzard Studios
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-van-dyk-459a69/
His profile has been updated to say the following.
President of the film and television division of leading game company Activision | Blizzard, charged with adapting the company’s intellectual property to film and TV, including development, financing, production and distribution. After founding the business unit in 2014 and serving as its COO and CFO, I grew the business to $15 mil in revenue and with my creative partner built a diverse and world-class team of 20+ people to execute our mission. I oversee financing, distribution, strategic planning, franchise management, business affairs, operations and other functions of this emerging business unit while working closely with the creative team.
* Executive producer of Skylanders Academy, a TV adaptation of Skylanders (the leading
children’s video game franchise in the world). Solicited pitches and selected show runner,
assembled writers’ room, provided notes and creative feedback at all stages of
production from writing through animation, hired key show staff (line producer, casting
director, voice director, composer, etc.), sourced and hired animation studio and negotiated
equity interest therein, established guidelines for talent deals, assembled series cast, and sold
the show to Netflix.
* Executive producer of Diablo, a TV adaptation of Blizzard Entertainment’s IP, rendered in anime style. The show is currently in pre-production for distribution worldwide through Netflix.
* With my creative partner, authored development strategy for the Call of Duty cinematic and
television universe. Secured development funding, developed writer compensation deals and oversaw negotiations to secure talent.
* With my creative partner, developed and sold an animated series based Blizzard’s Overwatch franchise.
* Authored strategic business plan for formation of the business, developed organization strategy, sourced and recruited talent, structured compensation and built the team to execute against the plan
So there you have it an Overwatch animated series has been sold rights to and a Diablo series is in pre-production which means we will see that one first.
We also know they are working on the Call of Duty movie but has been put on hold twice now.
I’m pretty excited about this news, how about you?
~bigfisch
bigfisch@gamewatchtoday.com