Recently, Zarhym posted in the official forums Blizzard won’t renew Upper Deck’s World of Warcraft TCG license. However, this is not the end of the Trading Card Game as Blizzard is committed to support the TCG and to create new content. The question is, Will Blizzard license the TCG to another company like what we saw with the The9-to-NetEase transition?

Will Blizzard take complete control of the World of Warcraft TCG production? Blizzard has the cash to buy their own printers, no doubt, but that’s a costly solution. They would need space to accommodate the equipment and other expenses associated with handling your own printing solutions. Again, they do have the capital at this point to take care of all of that, so I won’t rule that option out.

There is another option that might look more likely. Blizzard has a tight relationship with DC Entertainment at various levels from handling the World of WarCraft and StarCraft comic book — now heading to the Graphic Novel format — to their ties with the World of Warcraft film. For those who didn’t know, DC Entertainment is a subsidiary company of Warner Bros (owned by Time Warner). It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Blizzard tightening its relationship with DC Entertainment / Warner Bros a notch further.

DC Entertainment has a good distributing partner that could distribute the World of Warcraft TCG to every comic shop and retailer in USA: Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc.

All of this is mere speculation. Blizzard Entertainment will offer further details about the future of the World of Warcraft TCG at a later time.

Blizzard Quote:
Zarhym: As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game’s transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them.