Blizzard Files Three Trademarks Around 'Cataclysm'

Jul 2, 2009

Around 12 hours ago the Internet exploded with breaking news stating that Blizzard Entertainment had quietly filed three new game-related trademarks last Friday. All three pertain to the name "Cataclysm" and while speculation is currently off-the-charts, we do know that they broadly cover computer game software, online gaming and paper products.

The rampant speculation runs the gamut from suggesting that this is tied to the next World of Warcraft expansion pack, Diablo III, StarCraft II and even Blizzard's unannounced MMORPG project. There's a chance it might even be Blizzard's secret fifth title too.

World of Warcraft site wow.com added fuel to the fire when it did some digging:

We noticed the domain wowcataclysm.com expired on June 26th, 2009. The domain was previously held and parked out in Australia. June 26th is the same day the trademark was filed with the US Patent & Trademark Office. The domain is also now held by GoDaddy, who we know handles Blizzard domains. That's just a little too much coincidence for us to stay quiet about. It's entirely possible Blizzard just acquired the domain name.

Blizzard is notoriously tight-lipped about all of its properties, but with this year's Blizzcon a few months away, perhaps fans will get to hear the first official rumblings of what Cataclysm might be.

Bryn says: My money is definitely squarely on this being tied to the third expansion for World of Warcraft. Sure, the three trademarks cover a broad spectrum of products and services, but face the facts:

It's far too early for Blizz to be talking about the new MMORPG project, or the untitled fifth project. StarCraft II seems an unlikely candidate, so that leaves a WoW expansion or Diablo III. I'm going 50/50 with a new expansion. Care to place a few bets?