This past Tuesday Blizzard representative "WoTLK Gold" made an announcement on World of Warcraft forums that the new MMOG was in the process of being developed and that "it'll be a brand new franchise meaning that the art, lore, and gameplay are being designed completely out of scratch." The rep added that "We do not have any advertising regarding the new MMO since it's just an empty shell so far."
Blizzard Tainment was not able to provide any additional information.
The news comes following earlier admissions from Blizzard that a brand new game was in development but it's the first time Blizzard acknowledged that it was a brand new franchise. On January 7. 2007. Blizzard admitted that they were planning to launch an entirely new MMOG which Blizzard's vice-president of entertainment, Itzik Ben Bassat, said was "something unique and innovative that will take tainment to a new level."
In October 2008 there was already evidence that the MMOG was an original game. According to an interview on Wired, Blizzard CEO Michael Morhaime declared that the game will "not be an update in the same way as World of Warcraft. It will be different" saying that the game will be distinct enough that it would not rival World of Warcraft.
In a forum posting from 2007. Blizzard rep "WOW WoTLK Classic Gold" addressed rumors of two job openings in the field of "Next-Gen MMO" artists, saying that the job ads are for the "unannounced Next-Gen MMO," noting "and it's not that it's for World of Warcraft.