Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime has launched a new live-service game with the new publisher he co-founded, Dreamhaven.
Wildgate – not to be confused with Splitgate 2, which has just gone back into beta – is a crew-based first-person space shooter available now across PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.
It’s been developed by Moonshot Games, one of two developers under the Dreamhaven umbrella. The other is Secret Door, which recently launched its tabletop-inspired RPG Sunderfolk.
Wildgate casts players as “prospectors”, teaming up and exploring space in search of an ancient relic known as the Artifact. Crews must either collect the Artifact and safely reach the exit, or destroy all rival ships to dominate space.
It’s all presented in an over-the-top cartoonish style, filled with colourful alien characters and a vibrant sci-fi aesthetic.
“The response to Wildgate’s open beta was incredible,” said Morhaime. “It was truly inspiring to see so many players teaming up, jumping in, and having fun.
“Wildgate represents what Dreamhaven believes games can be: rich, imaginative, and deeply engaging. We’re just beginning to open the gate to a galaxy full of wonder, strategy, and discovery, and we hope the game resonates with players of all kinds.”
The development team has already shared its planned roadmap, including bi-weekly updates, mid-season patches, and seasonal content drops.
“We’re also going to present a few opportunities for players to purchase in-game content; however, our goal for paid content in Wildgate is for it to remain cosmetic and opt-in,” the developer said.
At Blizzard, Morhaime was heavily involved in the development of World of Warcraft, and was CEO during the release of Overwatch.
No doubt Morhaime and Dreamhaven will be hoping for live-service success with Wildgate, despite the difficulties of launching a new game in this genre.
As mentioned, Splitgate 2 will return to beta following its full launch less than two months ago, while World of Tanks developer Wargaming will soon shut down its live-service mech shooter Steel Hunters. More prominently, Sony infamously closed Concord last year after just two weeks, and has scaled back its live-service ambitions. That’s despite recently stating it’s committed to “diverse and resilient” live-service games like the forthcoming Marathon and Fairgames.
A small number of live-service games continue to dominate players’ time, including the likes of Fortnite, GTA 5, and Roblox.