Activision Blizzard CEO claims next MMO will be different

Interesting things come out of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick's mouth, especially his latest predictions.

Some industry executives do have a habit of spewing nonsense or just troubling (and revealing) insights.  Kotick's latest tease has to do with Blizzard's next MMO, which he says will not be the same fantasy setting as World of Warcraft, with elves and orcs.  That does seem to be the MMORPG trend as of late, moving away from the medieval fantasy world. 

At the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference talk, Kotick also notes the upcoming mystery MMO will appeal to more gamers.  Last we heard, former WoW director Jeff Kaplan had left Azeroth to work on a new project.

"What we've announced at Blizzard is that we have Starcraft coming, Diablo has been in production...and a new, unannounced MMOG that has a little more broad appeal."

He also hinted at some changes being made to Battle.net:

"As we start to add cash play and prize play and better rewards and recognition systems that come through the Internet, you will start to see audiences expand even further."

Well, you know, change can be a good thing.  We're just wondering if Blizzard's next MMO can carry on its predecessor's massive legacy; like it or hate it, World of Warcraft is an industry juggernaut.