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{{short description|American video game publisher and developer}}{{Use American English|date=July 2021}}{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}

factoids

| type = SubsidiaryVideo game industry>Video gamesAllen AdhamMichael Morhaime>Frank Pearce}}| hq_location_city = Irvine, California| hq_location_country = US| num_locations = 9 studios and officesPresident (corporate title)>president)''Diablo (series) series>Hearthstone (video game)>Heroes of the Storm''Overwatch series>StarCraft series|Warcraft series}}| services = Battle.net| num_employees = | num_employees_year =Davidson & AssociatesVivendi GamesActivision Blizzard|(2008–present)}}Blizzard AlbanyProletariat (company)>Blizzard Bostonweblink|blizzard.com}}



factoids



}}Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded in February 1991 as Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduates of the University of California, Los Angeles: Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce and Allen Adham. The company originally concentrated on the creation of game ports for other studios' games before beginning development of their own software in 1993, with games like Rock n' Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings. In 1993, the company became Chaos Studios, Inc., and then Blizzard Entertainment soon after being acquired by distributor Davidson & Associates early in the following year. Shortly after, Blizzard released (Warcraft: Orcs & Humans).Since then, Blizzard Entertainment has created several Warcraft sequels, including highly influential massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft in 2004, as well as three other multi-million selling video game franchises: Diablo, StarCraft and Overwatch.WEB, Sarker, Samit, August 4, 2015, Diablo 3 lifetime sales top 30 million units,weblink August 5, 2015, Polygon (website), Polygon, August 6, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150806163842weblink">weblink live, WEB, Brendan Sinclair, May 31, 2009, Starcraft II by end of 2009, Call of Duty expanding to new genres,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090602141340weblink">weblink June 2, 2009, June 14, 2009, GameSpot, (until 2009: 20M)WEB, Overwatch just reached 35 million players,weblink January 8, 2021, PCGamesN, October 16, 2017, en-GB, January 9, 2021,weblink live, Their most recent projects include the online collectible card game Hearthstone; the multiplayer online battle arena Heroes of the Storm; the remaster of the original StarCraft and its expansion Brood War, (StarCraft: Remastered); the replacement and sequel to the multiplayer first-person hero shooter Overwatch, Overwatch 2; the ninth expansion for World of Warcraft, (World of Warcraft: Dragonflight|Dragonflight); and the sequel to Diablo III, Diablo IV. The games operate through Blizzard's online gaming service Battle.net.On July 9, 2008, Activision merged with Vivendi Games, culminating in the inclusion of the Blizzard brand name in the title of the resulting holding company.WEB,weblink Vivendi and Activision complete transaction to create Activision Blizzard, July 10, 2008, Activision, Inc, May 19, 2015, Vivendi Universal, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150810191741weblink">weblink August 10, 2015, On July 25, 2013, Activision Blizzard announced the purchase of 429 million shares from the majority owner Vivendi, which resulted in Activision Blizzard becoming a completely independent company.Activision Blizzard Announces Transformative Purchase of Shares from Vivendi and New Capital Structure {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728104839weblink |date=July 28, 2013 }}. Retrieved July 25, 2013. Since 2018, the company's reputation has suffered from a series of poorly received games, controversies involving players and staff, and allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct against leading Blizzard employees.MAGAZINE, Messner, Steven, 2021-07-31, How Blizzard's reputation collapsed in just 3 years,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, 2021-07-31, PC Gamer, en-US, {{cbignore}} In October 2023, Microsoft acquired parent company Activision Blizzard, maintaining that the company will continue to operate as a separate business. While part of the larger Microsoft Gaming division, Blizzard Entertainment retains its function as the publisher of games developed by their studios.Blizzard Entertainment hosts annual gaming conventions for fans to meet and to promote their games: the first BlizzCon was held in October 2005 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, which is where all of their conventions have been held since.WEB, October 31, 2019, BlizzCon 2019: Everything you need to know including how to watch and what to expect,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 8, 2021, ONE Esports, en-US, {{cbignore}} BlizzCon features game-related announcements, previews of upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games and content, Q&A sessions and panels, costume contests, and playable demos of various Blizzard games. Blizzard WorldWide Invitationals were events similar to BlizzCon held in South Korea and France between 2004 and 2008.

History

Founding (1991–1994)

File:Mike_Morhaime_BlizzCon_2007.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Blizzard co-founder and former CEO Mike MorhaimeMike MorhaimeBlizzard Entertainment was founded by Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce as Silicon & Synapse in February 1991, after all three had earned their bachelor's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, the year prior.WEB,weblink UCLA Engineering Celebrates Accomplishments at Annual Awards Dinner, UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, November 6, 2006, September 22, 2007, M. Abraham,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110716201249weblink">weblink July 16, 2011, The name "Silicon & Synapse" was a high concept from the three founders, with "silicon" representing the building block of a computer, while "synapse" the building block of the brain. The initial logo was created by Stu Rose.WEB,weblink GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 9 of 19, John, Keefer, March 31, 2006, GameSpy,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070609133006weblink">weblink June 9, 2007, dead, To fund the company, each of them contributed about $10,000, Morhaime borrowing the sum interest-free from his grandmother.MAGAZINE,weblink Mike Morhaime founded Blizzard thanks to a $15,000 loan from his grandmother, Bo, Moore, September 13, 2017, September 13, 2017, PC Gamer,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170914034844weblink">weblink September 14, 2017, live, During the first two years, the company focused on creating game ports for other studios. Ports include titles such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I and Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess.WEB,weblink Blizzard Timeline, Blizzard Entertainment,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20010215105033weblink">weblink February 15, 2001, WEB,weblink Ported by Blizzard Entertainment Inc., Mobygames, March 10, 2008,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080228220612weblink">weblink February 28, 2008, live, In 1993, the company developed games such as Rock n' Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings (published by Interplay Productions).Around 1993, co-founder Adham told the other executives that he did not like the name "Silicon & Synapse" anymore, as people outside the company were confusing the meaning of silicon the chemical element used in microchips with silicone the materials used in breast implants. By the end of 1993, Adham changed the name to "Chaos Studios", reflecting on the haphazardness of their development processes.MAGAZINE,weblink How Blizzard got its name, Tom, Marks, December 7, 2016, December 11, 2019, PC Gamer, December 11, 2019,weblink live, In early 1994, they were acquired by distributor Davidson & Associates for $6.75 million (${{Inflation|US|6.75|1994|r=1|fmt=c}} million today).Dean Takahashi: game-development Co-Founder Looks at Chaos in Early Stages and Future Challenges. {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120707041727weblink |date=July 7, 2012 }} In: Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1994. – Interview with Allen Adham. Shortly after this point, they were contacted by a Florida company, Chaos Technologies, who wanted the company to pay {{USD|100,000}} ({{Inflation|US|100000|1994|fmt=eq}}) to keep the name.Dean Takahashi: Briefcase: Technology. {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120629025604weblink |date=June 29, 2012 }} In: Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1994. Not wanting to pay that sum, the executives decided to change the studio's name to "Ogre Studios" by April 1994. However, Davidson & Associates did not like this name, and forced the company to change it. According to Morhaime, Adham began running through a dictionary from the start, writing down any word that seemed interesting and passing it to the legal department to see if it had any complications. One of the first words they found to be interesting and cleared the legal check was "blizzard", leading them to change their name to "Blizzard Entertainment" by May 1994.WEB,weblink Briefcase: Technology, Dean, Takahashi, May 24, 1994, December 11, 2019, Los Angeles Times,weblink" title="archive.today/20120629025604weblink">weblink June 29, 2012, Shortly thereafter, Blizzard Entertainment shipped their breakthrough hit (Warcraft: Orcs & Humans), a real-time strategy (RTS) game in a high-fantasy setting.

Acquisition by Vivendi and World of Warcraft (1995–2007)

Blizzard Entertainment has changed hands several times since then. Davidson was acquired along with Sierra On-Line by a company called CUC International in 1996. CUC then merged with a hotel, real-estate, and car-rental franchiser called HFS Corporation to form Cendant in 1997. In 1998 it became apparent that CUC had engaged in accounting fraud for years before the merger. Cendant's stock lost 80% of its value over the next six months in the ensuing widely discussed accounting scandal. The company sold its consumer software operations, Sierra On-line (which included Blizzard) to French publisher Havas in 1998, the same year Havas was purchased by Vivendi.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, How Sierra Was Captured, Then Killed, by a Massive Accounting Fraud, Duncan, Fyfe, October 29, 2020, October 30, 2020, Vice (magazine), Vice, {{cbignore}} Blizzard, at this point numbering about 200 employees, became part of the Vivendi Games group of Vivendi.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, Blizzard's Mike Morhaime leaves a legacy of quality and kindness for the video game industry, Dean, Takahashi, October 3, 2018, August 17, 2021, Venture Beat, {{cbignore}}{{anchor|Blizzard South}}In 1996, Blizzard Entertainment acquired Condor Games of San Mateo, California, which had been working on the action role-playing game (ARPG) Diablo for Blizzard at the time. Condor was renamed Blizzard North, with Blizzard's main headquarters in Irvine renamed to Blizzard South to distinguish the two.WEB,weblink Blizzard Merges Blizzard North Into Blizzard South, Nich, Maragos, August 1, 2005, December 11, 2019, Gamasutra, December 11, 2019,weblink live, Diablo was released at the very start of 1997 alongside Battle.net, a matchmaking service for the game. Blizzard North developed the sequel Diablo II (2000), and its expansion pack (Diablo II: Lord of Destruction|Lord of Destruction) (2001). Following these releases, a number of key staff from Blizzard North departed for other opportunities, such as Bill Roper. Blizzard's management made the decision August 2005 to consolidate Blizzard North into Blizzard South, relocating staff to the main Blizzard offices in Irvine, and subsequently dropping the "Blizzard South" name.Following the success of (Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness), Blizzard began development on a science-fiction themed RTS StarCraft and released the title in March 1998. The title was the top-selling PC game for the year,WEB, StarCraft Named No. 1 Seller in 1998, IGN, January 20, 1999,weblink February 16, 2016, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160303025909weblink">weblink March 3, 2016, and led to further growth of the Battle.net service and the use of the game for esports. Around 2000, Blizzard engaged with Nihilistic Software to work on a version of StarCraft for home consoles for Blizzard. Nihilisitic was co-founded by Robert Huebner, who had worked on StarCraft and other games while a Blizzard employee before leaving to found the studio. The game, (StarCraft: Ghost), was a stealth-oriented game compared to the RTS features of StarCraft, and was a major feature of the 2002 Tokyo Game Show. However, over the next few years, the game entered development hell with conflicts between Nihilisitic and Blizzard on its direction. Blizzard ordered Nihilistic to stop work on StarCraft: Ghost in July 2004, and instead brought on Swingin' Ape Studios, a third-party studio that had just successfully released (Metal Arms: Glitch in the System) in 2003, to reboot the development of Ghost. Blizzard fully acquired Swingin' Ape Studios in May 2005 to continue on Ghost. However, while the game was scheduled to be released in 2005, it was targeted at the consoles of the sixth generation, such as the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, while the industry was transitioning to the seventh generation. Blizzard decided to cancel Ghost rather than extend its development period to work on the newer consoles.WEB,weblink StarCraft: Ghost – What Went Wrong, July 5, 2016, December 12, 2019, Polygon (website), Polygon, May 17, 2020,weblink live, Blizzard started to work on a sequel to the Warcraft II in early 1998, which was announced as a "role-playing strategy" game.WEB, Atkin, Denny, February 19, 2005, Warcraft III First Look,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20050219000752weblink">weblink February 19, 2005, July 15, 2018, CDMag.com, WEB, Bauman, Steve, September 10, 1999, Warcraft III Preview - Part 1,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20050217190053weblink">weblink February 17, 2005, July 15, 2018, (Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos), the third title set in the Warcraft fictional universe, was released in July 2002.WEB, WarCraft 3: Reign of Chaos: Test, Tipps, Videos, News, Release Termin - PCGames.de,weblinkweblink" title="ghostarchive.org/archive/20210928weblink">weblink 2021-09-28, July 23, 2018, PC GAMES, de, {{cbignore}} Warcraft III has inspired many future games, having the influence on real-time strategy and multiplayer online battle arena genre.NEWS, Zacny, Rob, March 7, 2018, The Monstrous Timelessness of Warcraft 3, en-us, Waypoint,weblink live, July 17, 2018,weblink March 13, 2018, WEB, Staff, Ars, January 27, 2020, How Warcraft III birthed a genre, changed a franchise, and earned a Reforge-ing,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 9, 2021, Ars Technica, en-us, {{cbignore}} Many of the characters, locations and concepts introduced in Warcraft III and (Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne|its expansion) went on to play major roles in numerous future Blizzard's titles.WEB, Heroes Of The Storm Proves That A New Warcraft Strategy Game Could Work,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, September 9, 2020, Kotaku, June 30, 2015, en-us, {{cbignore}}WEB, Hearthstone Cards and Heroes in Warcraft 3,weblinkweblink June 14, 2020, October 6, 2020, Youtube, bot: unknown, In 2002, Blizzard was able to reacquire rights for three of its earlier Silicon & Synapse titles, The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing and Blackthorne, from Interplay Entertainment and re-release them for the Game Boy Advance handheld console.INTERVIEW,weblink The Making of The Lost Vikings, November 22, 2002, June 23, 2007, Morhaime, Mike, Blizzard Insider, Blizzard Insider,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20030211022815weblink">weblink February 11, 2003, In 2004, Blizzard opened European offices in the Paris suburb of Vélizy, Yvelines, France.Blizzard Entertainment released World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the Warcraft franchise, on November 23, 2004, in North America, and on February 11, 2005, in Europe.WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071103122615weblink">weblink November 3, 2007, Blizzard Entertainment announces World of Warcraft, By December 2004, the game was the fastest-selling PC game in the United States, and by March 2005, had reached 1.5 million subscribers worldwide.WEB,weblink Seven Years Of World Of Warcraft, Tom, Curtis, November 23, 2011, December 12, 2019, Gamasutra, December 12, 2019,weblink live, Blizzard partnered with Chinese publisher The9 to publish and distribute World of Warcraft in China, as foreign companies could not directly publish into the country themselves. World of Warcraft launched in China in June 2005.WEB,weblink Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma, The9, Jennie, Jees, February 12, 2006, December 12, 2019, Engadget, December 12, 2019,weblink live, By the end of 2007, World of Warcraft was considered a global phenomenon, having reached over 9 million subscribers and exceeded {{USD|1 billion}} in revenue since its release.WEB,weblink Online Game, Made in U.S., Seizes the Globe, Seth, Schiesel, September 5, 2006, December 12, 2019, The New York Times, December 12, 2019,weblink live, In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62 percent of the MMORPG subscription market.WEB, MMOG Subscriptions Market Share April 2008, mmogchart.com, Bruce Sterling Woodcock,weblink April 1, 2008, September 24, 2008, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110605194653weblink">weblink June 5, 2011, Blizzard's staff quadrupled from around 400 employees in 2004 to 1600 by 2006 to provide more resources to the game and its various expansions, and Blizzard moved their headquarters to 16215 Alton Parkway in Irvine, California in 2007 to support the additional staff.With the success of World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment organized the first BlizzCon fan convention in October 2005 held at the Anaheim Convention Center. The inaugural event drew about 6,000 people and became an annual event which Blizzard uses to announce new games, expansions, and content for its properties.

Vivendi merger with Activision and continued growth (2008–2017)

Up through 2006, Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision, had been working to rebound the company from near-bankruptcy, and had established a number of new studios. However, Activision lacked anything in the MMO market. Kotick saw that World of Warcraft was bringing in over {{USD|1.1 billion}} a year in subscription fees, and began approaching Vivendi's CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy about potential acquisition of their struggling Vivendi Games division, which included Blizzard Entertainment. Lévy was open to a merger, but would only allow it if he controlled the majority of the combined company, knowing the value of World of Warcraft to Kotick. Among those Kotick spoke to for advice included Blizzard's Morhaime, who told Kotick that they had begun establishing lucrative in-roads into the Chinese market. Kotick accepted Lévy's deal, with the deal approved by shareholders in December 2007. By July 2008, the merger was complete, with Vivendi Games effectively dissolved except for Blizzard Entertainment, and the new company was named Activision Blizzard.WEB,weblink Activision's Unlikely Hero, Peter, Beller, January 15, 2009, February 12, 2019, Forbes (magazine), Forbes,weblink August 6, 2017, live, Blizzard established a distribution agreement with the Chinese company NetEase in August 2008 to publish Blizzard's games in China. The deal focused on (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty|StarCraft II) which was gaining popularity as an esport within southeast Asia, as well as for other Blizzard games with the exception of World of Warcraft, still being handled by The9. The two companies established the Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology for managing the games within China.WEB,weblink Blizzard cuts deal with NetEase.com to take Starcraft II to China, Dean, Takahashi, August 12, 2008, December 12, 2019, Venture Beat, December 12, 2019,weblink live, Blizzard and The9 prepared to launch the World of Warcraft expansion (World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King|Wrath of the Lich King), but the expansion came under scrutiny by China's content regulation board, the General Administration of Press and Publication, which rejected publication of it within China in March 2009, even with preliminary modifications made by The9 to clear it. Rumors of Blizzard's dissatisfaction with The9 from this and other previous complications with World of Warcraft came to a head when, in April 2009, Blizzard announced it was terminating its contract with The9, and transferred operation of World of Warcraft in China to NetEase.WEB,weblink The9 Loses China World Of Warcraft Deal to NetEase, Dave, Jenkins, Kris, Graft, April 16, 2009, December 12, 2019, Gamasutra, December 12, 2019,weblink live, WEB,weblink WoW Archivist: WoW in China, an uncensored history, Scott, Andrews, January 17, 2014, December 12, 2019, Engadget, November 5, 2019,weblink live, They released an improved version of Battle.net (Battle.net 2.0) in March 2009 which included improved matchmaking, storefront features, and better support for all of Blizzard's existing titles particularly World of Warcraft.WEB, August 21, 2009, Upcoming Blizzard Battle.Net Feature Draw From Warcraft, Xbox Live, Life – Blizzcon 09,weblink July 8, 2010, Kotaku.com, April 18, 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100418185723weblink">weblink live, Having peaked at 12 million monthly subscriptions in 2010, World of Warcraft subscriptions sunk to 6.8 million in 2014, the lowest number since the end of 2006, prior to (World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade|The Burning Crusade) expansion.NEWS,weblink Number of World of Warcraft subscribers from 1st quarter 2005 to 3rd quarter 2014, Statista, December 18, 2014, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141217040907weblink">weblink December 17, 2014, WEB,weblink World of Warcraft Hits 12 Million Subscribers, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110205121821weblink">weblink February 5, 2011, October 11, 2010, WEB,weblink World of Warcraft hits the 12-million-subscribers mark, Ryan Fleming, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101210132612weblink">weblink December 10, 2010, October 7, 2010, However, World of Warcraft is still the world's most-subscribed MMORPG,WEB, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Shatters Day-1 Sales Record, Blizzard Entertainment,weblink November 20, 2008, November 20, 2008, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110708200826weblink">weblink July 8, 2011, "MMOG Active Subscriptions 21.0 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701045444weblink |date=July 1, 2010 }}", MMOGCHART.COM, June 29, 2006.WEB,weblink GigaOM Top 10 Most Popular MMOs, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100701164346weblink">weblink July 1, 2010, June 13, 2007, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers.BOOK, Glenday, Craig, Guinness World Records 2009, Craig Glenday, Random House, Inc., 2009, paperback, 241, 978-0-553-59256-6,weblink September 18, 2009, Most popular MMORPG game{{sic, In terms of the number of online subscribers, World of Warcraft is the most popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), with 10 million subscribers as of January 2008. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428064910weblink |archive-date=April 28, 2014}}NEWS,weblink Video: Backstage at BlizzCon 2009:Thousands of World of Warcraft fans descend on southern California for Blizzard's epic gaming convention, Williams, Becky, August 24, 2009, The Daily Telegraph, UK, Set in the fantasy world of Azeroth it currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG, which probably accounts for why Blizzard is the most bankable games publisher in the world., September 18, 2009, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090901184912weblink">weblink September 1, 2009, NEWS,weblink Guinness announces gaming world records, Langshaw, Mark, June 6, 2009, Digital Spy Limited, September 18, 2009, Blizzard's Mike Morhaime and Paul Sams were handed awards for World Of Warcraft and Starcraft, which won Most Popular MMORPG and Best Selling PC Strategy Game respectively., live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120208162245weblink">weblink February 8, 2012, WEB, World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG in the world with nearly 12 million subscribers around the world.,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080405020338weblink">weblink April 5, 2008, Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition – Records – PC Gaming, In 2008, Blizzard was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for the creation of World of Warcraft. Mike Morhaime accepted the award.WEB,weblink Winners of 59th Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards Announced by National Television Academy at Consumer Electronics Show, Hein, Angela, January 8, 2008, The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, February 27, 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180720225149weblink">weblink July 20, 2018, live, WEB,weblink Mike Morhaime, The Centre for Computing History, February 27, 2008,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120403185736weblink">weblink April 3, 2012, live, Following the merger, Blizzard found it was relying on its well-established properties, but at the same time, the industry was experiencing a shift towards indie games. Blizzard established a few small teams within the company to work on developing new concepts based on the indie development approach that it could potentially use. One of these teams quickly came onto the idea of a collectible card game based on the Warcraft narrative universe, which ultimately became Hearthstone, released as a free-to-play title in March 2014.WEB,weblink Hearthstone: how a game developer turned 30m people into card geeks, The Guardian, Keith, Stewart, June 25, 2015, April 22, 2016, June 3, 2016,weblink live, Hearthstone reached over 25 million players by the end of 2014,WEB, Matulef, Jeffrey, Destiny has more than 16 million registered users,weblink Eurogamer, Gamer Network, February 6, 2015, February 5, 2015, February 6, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150206040908weblink">weblink live, and exceeded 100 million players by 2018.MAGAZINE,weblink Blizzard celebrates 100 million Hearthstone players with free card packs for everyone, Andy, Chalk, November 5, 2018, November 5, 2018, PC Gamer, November 10, 2018,weblink live, Another small internal team began work around 2008 on a new intellectual property known as Titan, a more contemporary or near-future MMORPG that would have co-existed alongside World of Warcraft. The project gained more visibility in 2010 as a result of some information leaks. Blizzard continued to speak on Titan{{'}}s development over the next few years, with over 100 people within Blizzard working on the project. However, Titan{{'}}s development was troubled, and, internally, in May 2013, Blizzard cancelled the project (publicly reporting this in 2014), and reassigned most of the staff but left about 40 people, led by Jeff Kaplan, to either come up with a fresh idea within a few weeks or have their team reassigned to Blizzard's other departments. The small team came upon the idea of a team-based multiplayer shooter game, reusing many of the assets from Titan but set in a new near-future narrative. The new project was greenlit by Blizzard and became known as Overwatch, which was released in May 2016. Overwatch became the fourth main intellectual property of Blizzard, following Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.WEB,weblink The Story of Overwatch: The Complete Jeff Kaplan Interview, Danny, O'Dwyer, Justin, Haywald, April 26, 2016, June 1, 2016, GameSpot, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160530205229weblink">weblink May 30, 2016, In addition to Hearthstone and Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment continued to produce sequels and expansions to its established properties during this period, including (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty) (2010) and Diablo III (2012).WEB, StarCraft 2 at ten: the past, present, and future of the world's greatest RTS,weblink September 16, 2020, PCGamesN, August 6, 2020, en-GB, September 19, 2020,weblink live, WEB, May 14, 2012, Diablo III Launches at Midnight: What You Need to Know,weblink September 16, 2020, PCWorld, en, August 7, 2020,weblink live, Their major crossover title, Heroes of the Storm, was released as a MOBA game in 2015.PRESS RELEASE, April 20, 2015, Blizzard's Worlds Collide When Heroes of the Storm Launches June 2 – Everyone's invited to join the battle for the Nexus when open beta testing begins on May 19,weblink April 20, 2015, April 23, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150423214341weblink">weblink live, WEB, Kuchera, Ben, May 21, 2014, Blizzard set out to make a StarCraft mod, and instead reinvented gaming's most popular genre,weblink June 7, 2020, Polygon, en, August 7, 2020,weblink live, The game featured various characters from Blizzard's franchises as playable heroes, as well as different battlegrounds based on Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and Overwatch universes.WEB, From Warcraft III to Heroes of the Storm, Talking Art and Blizzard's Long History with Samwise Didier – AusGamers.com,weblink November 29, 2019, ausgamers.com, August 6, 2020,weblink live, In the late 2010s, Blizzard released (StarCraft: Remastered) (2017) and (Warcraft III: Reforged) (2020), remastered versions of the original StarCraft and Warcraft III, respectively.MAGAZINE, Here's When You Can Play 'StarCraft' With 4K Graphics,weblink September 16, 2020, Time, September 18, 2020,weblink live, WEB, Carpenter, Nicole, December 17, 2019, Warcraft 3: Reforged delayed to 2020,weblink September 16, 2020, Polygon, en, December 23, 2020,weblink live, The May 2016 release of Overwatch was highly successful, and was the highest-selling game on PC for 2016.WEB,weblink Overwatch brought in more money than any other paid PC game in 2016, Sharif, Saed, December 22, 2016, December 22, 2016, VG247, live,weblink December 23, 2016, Several traditional esport events had been established within the year of Overwatch{{'s}} release, such as the Overwatch World Cup, but Blizzard continued to expand this and announced the first esports professional league, the Overwatch League at the 2016 BlizzCon event. The company purchased a studio at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California, that it converted into a dedicated esports venue, the Blizzard Arena, to be used for the Overwatch League and other events.WEB,weblink Blizzard opening dedicated esports production facility, Brendan, Sinclair, September 7, 2017, September 7, 2017, GamesIndustry.biz,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170908020202weblink">weblink September 8, 2017, live, The inaugural season of the Overwatch League launched on January 10, 2018, with 12 global teams playing. By the second season in 2019 it had expanded the League to 20 teams, and with its third season in 2020, it will have these teams traveling across the globe in a transitional home/away-style format.In 2012, Blizzard Entertainment had 4,700 employees,WEB, Gamasutra Staff,weblink DICE 2012: Blizzard's Pearce on World Of Warcraft's launch hangover, Gamasutra, February 9, 2012, January 23, 2013, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130208121006weblink">weblink February 8, 2013, with offices across 11 cities including Austin, Texas, and countries around the globe. {{as of|2015|June|}}, the company's headquarters in Irvine, California had 2,622 employees.WEB,weblinkweblink dead, August 17, 2016, City of Irvine, California – Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – For fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, Irvine, California, July 31, 2016,

Change of leadership (2018–2022)

On October 3, 2018, Mike Morhaime announced his plans to step down as the company president and CEO while remaining an advisor to the company; he formally left on April 7, 2019. Morhaime was replaced by J. Allen Brack, the executive producer on World of Warcraft.PRESS RELEASE,weblink Activision Blizzard Names World of Warcraft Executive Producer J. Allen Brack As New President of Blizzard Entertainment, October 3, 2018, October 3, 2018, Business Wire,weblink October 3, 2018, live, MAGAZINE,weblink Mike Morhaime is leaving Blizzard for good in April, Chalk, Andy, January 10, 2019, PC Gamer, en-US, January 11, 2019,weblink January 11, 2019, live, Frank Pearce announced he would be stepping down as Blizzard's Chief Development Officer on July 19, 2019, though will remain in an advisory role similar to Morhaime.WEB,weblink Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce steps down after 28 years, Capel, Chris J., July 19, 2019, PCGamesN, live,weblink July 19, 2019, July 19, 2019, Michael Chu, lead writer on many of Blizzard's franchises including Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch, announced he was leaving the company after 20 years in March 2020.WEB,weblink Overwatch lead writer leaves Blizzard after 20 years, Michael, Chu, March 11, 2020, March 11, 2020, Polygon (website), Polygon, March 12, 2020,weblink live, On January 22, 2021, Activision transferred Vicarious Visions over to Blizzard Entertainment, stating that the Vicarious Visions team had better opportunity for long-term support for Blizzard.WEB,weblink Vicarious Visions merged into Blizzard, Brendan, Sinclair, January 22, 2021, January 22, 2021, GamesIndustry.biz, January 22, 2021,weblink live, Vicarious had been working with Blizzard for about two years prior to this announcement on the planned remaster of Diablo II, (Diablo II: Resurrected), and according to Brack, it made sense to incorporate Vicarious into Blizzard for ongoing support of the game and for other Diablo games including Diablo IV.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, Blizzard Absorbs Activision Studio After Dismantling Classic Games Team, Jason, Schreier, Jason Schreier, January 22, 2021, January 22, 2021, Bloomberg News, {{cbignore}}WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, Blizzard leaders J. Allen Brack and Allen Adham on leaks, Reforged lessons, mobile, and more, Mike, Minotti, February 22, 2021, February 22, 2021, Venture Beat, {{cbignore}} Vicarious was completely merged into Blizzard by April 12, 2022.WEB,weblink Tony Hawk studio Vicarious Visions is no more as it completes merger with Blizzard, April 12, 2022, In celebration of the company's 30th anniversary, Blizzard Entertainment released a compilation called Blizzard Arcade Collection in February 2021, for various video game platforms. The collection includes their three classic video games: The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing, and Blackthorne, each of which containing additional upgrades and numerous modern features.Activision Blizzard was the subject of a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July 2021, asserting that for several years the management within Blizzard as well as Activision promoted a "frat boy" atmosphere that allowed and encouraged sexual misconduct towards female employees and discrimination in hiring practices.WEB,weblink Activision Blizzard Sued Over 'Frat Boy' culture, Harassment, Allsup, Maeve, July 21, 2021, Bloomberg Law, The lawsuit drew a large response from employees and groups outside of Activision Blizzard. In the wake of these events, Brack, one of the few individuals directly named in the suit, announced he was leaving Blizzard to "pursue new opportunities", and will be replaced by co-leads Jen Oneal, the lead of Vicarious Visions and the first woman in a leadership role for the company, and Mike Ybarra, a Blizzard executive vice president.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Is Leaving The Company, Eddie, Makuch, August 3, 2021, August 3, 2021, GameSpot, {{cbignore}} Oneal announced in November 2021 that she would be leaving the company by the end of 2021, leaving Ybarra as the sole leader of Blizzard.WEB,weblink Jen Oneal leaves Blizzard co-leader role, Mike Ybarra becomes sole boss, Mike, Minotti, November 2, 2021, November 2, 2021, Venture Beat, WEB, A Message From Jen Oneal,weblink 2021-11-02, news.blizzard.com, en, As a result of the California lawsuit and of delays and release issues with their more recent games, Activision Blizzard's stock faced severe pressure. Subsequently, Microsoft seized the opportunity to become one of the largest video game companies in the world and announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard and its subsidiaries, including Blizzard, for {{USD|68.7 billion|long=no}} in January 2022. This exchange marks the largest acquisition in tech history, surpassing the $67 billion Dell-EMC merger from 2016. The deal closed on October 13, 2023, and Activision Blizzard moved into the Microsoft Gaming division.WEB, Microsoft to buy embattled Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion,weblink 2022-01-19, www.cbsnews.com, January 18, 2022, en-US, Blizzard acquired Proletariat, the developers of Spellbreak, in June 2022 as to help support World of Warcraft. The 100-employee studio remained in Boston but will shutter Spellbreak as they move onto Warcraft.WEB,weblink Blizzard acquires Spellbreak studio Proletariat to bolster World of Warcraft, Dean, Takahashi, June 29, 2022, June 29, 2022, Venture Beat,

Challenges with NetEase and Microsoft Acquisition (2023–present)

Ahead of their license renewal in January 2023, Blizzard (via Activision Blizzard) and NetEase stated in November 2022 that they had been unable to come to an agreement on the renewal terms for their license, and thus most Blizzard games will cease operations in China in January 2023 until the situation can be resolved.WEB,weblink Blizzard will suspend World of Warcraft in China because of licensing dispute, Ash, Parrish, November 17, 2022, November 17, 2022, The Verge, According to a report by The New York Times, several factors influenced Activision Blizzard's decision to terminate the agreement, which included stronger demands made by the Chinese government to know of Activision Blizzard's internal business matters, NetEase's desire to license the games directly rather than run the license through a joint venture, and Activision Blizzard's concerns that NetEase was trying to start their own ventures, including the {{USD|100 million|long=no}} payment towards Bungie in 2018. NetEase was further concerned about the impact of the pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. Activision Blizzard stated they were looking to other Chinese firms as replacements for NetEase as to restore their games in China.WEB,weblink Rift Between Gaming Giants Shows Toll of China's Economic Crackdown, Kellen, Browning, Chang, Che, March 29, 2023, April 1, 2023, The New York Times, By April 2024, Blizzard, with Microsoft's help, and NetEase had agreed to new publishing terms, with plans to bring back Blizzard's games to China by mid-2024, maintaining all prior game ownership from the original publishing deal. Under this new deal, NetEase also will be able to bring games to the Xbox platform.NEWS, Huang, Jiahui, Blizzard Videogames to Return to China in New Deal With NetEase,weblink 2024-04-10, WSJ, en-US, WEB, Yang, George, Blizzard Games to Return to China Under New Agreement With NetEase,weblink IGN, en, 10 April 2024, Following completion of the acquisition, Microsoft announced it was laying off 1,900 staff from Microsoft Gaming on January 25, 2024. Alongside this, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra and Chief Design Officer Allen Adham announced they would be leaving the company. Further, the planned survival game from Blizzard was canceled.WEB, Warren, Tom, 2024-01-25, Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees,weblink 2024-01-29, The Verge, en, On January 29, 2024, Johanna Faries, the former general manager of the Call of Duty series, was named Blizzard Entertainment's new president, taking office on February 5.WEB, Partis, Danielle, 2021-04-26, Johanna Faries named new Call of Duty general manager,weblink 2024-01-29, GamesIndustry.biz, en, WEB,weblink Blizzard has a new president., Emma, Roth, January 29, 2024, The Verge, January 29, 2024,

Games

{{Video game timeline| compressempty = yes| 1994a = The Death and Return of Superman| 1994b = Blackthorne| 1994c = (Warcraft: Orcs & Humans)| 1995 = (Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness)| 1996 = (Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal)Diablo (video game)>Diablo| 1997b = The Lost Vikings 2StarCraft (video game)>StarCraft| 1998b = (StarCraft: Insurrection)| 1998c = (StarCraft: Brood War)| 1998d = (StarCraft: Retribution)| 1999 = (Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition)| 2000 = Diablo II| 2001 = (Diablo II: Lord of Destruction)| 2002 = (Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos)| 2003 = (Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne)| 2004 = World of Warcraft| 2007 = (World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade)| 2008 = (World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King)| 2010a = (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)| 2010b = (World of Warcraft: Cataclysm)| 2012a = Diablo III| 2012b = (World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria)| 2013 = (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)| 2014a = Hearthstone| 2014b = (Diablo III: Reaper of Souls)| 2014c = (World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor)| 2015a = Heroes of the Storm| 2015b = (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)Overwatch (video game)>Overwatch| 2016b = (World of Warcraft: Legion)| 2016c = (StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops)| 2017a = (Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer)| 2017b = (StarCraft: Remastered)| 2018 = (World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth)| 2019 = World of Warcraft Classic| 2020a=(Warcraft III: Reforged)| 2020b=(World of Warcraft: Shadowlands)(World of Warcraft Classic#Burning Crusade Classic>World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic)| 2021b = (Diablo II: Resurrected)| 2022a = Diablo Immortal(World of Warcraft Classic#Wrath of the Lich King Classic>World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic)| 2022c = Overwatch 2| 2022d = (World of Warcraft: Dragonflight)| 2023a = Diablo IV| 2023b = Warcraft Rumble| 2023c = (Hearthstone: Showdown in the Badlands)(World of Warcraft: Classic>World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic)| 2024b = (Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred)| 2024c = (World of Warcraft: The War Within) | TBAa = (World of Warcraft: Midnight)| TBAb = (World of Warcraft: The Last Titan)}}Blizzard Entertainment has developed 19 games since the inception of the company in 1991.

Main franchises

The majority of the games Blizzard published are in the Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft series. Since the release of (Warcraft: Orcs & Humans) (1994), Diablo (1997), and StarCraft (1998), the focus has been almost exclusively on those three franchises. Overwatch (2016) became an exception years later, bringing the number of main franchises to four. Each franchise is supported by other media based around its intellectual property such as novels, collectible card games, comics and video shorts. Blizzard announced in 2006 that they would be producing a Warcraft live-action movie. The movie was directed by Duncan Jones, financed and produced by Legendary Pictures, Atlas Entertainment, and others, and distributed by Universal Pictures.WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060526064526weblink">weblink May 26, 2006, Blizzard Entertainment – Press Release, August 31, 2006, May 9, 2006, It was released in June 2016. On October 4, 2022, Overwatch servers were officially shut off at the same time Overwatch 2's went up.WEB, October 3, 2022, Overwatch servers shutdown,weblink

Spin-offs

Blizzard has released two spin-offs to the main franchises: Hearthstone (2014), which is set in the existing Warcraft lore, and Heroes of the Storm (2015), which features playable characters from all four of Blizzard's franchises.

Remasters

In 2015, Blizzard Entertainment formed "Classic Games division", a team focused on updating and remastering some of their older titles, with an initially announced focus on (StarCraft: Remastered) (2017), (Warcraft III: Reforged) (2020), and (Diablo II: Resurrected) (2021).WEB, Blizzard Looking to Revive These Classic Games [UPDATE],weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 22, 2021, GameSpot, en-US, {{cbignore}}WEB, February 2021, Josh West 19, Why Diablo 2 deserves to be Resurrected,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 22, 2021, gamesradar, February 19, 2021, en, {{cbignore}}

Re-released games

In February 2021, Blizzard Entertainment released a compilation called Blizzard Arcade Collection for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The collection includes five Blizzard's classic video games: The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing, Blackthorne, The Lost Vikings 2 and RPM Racing, with the last two games added in April 2021. Some of the modern features include 16:9 resolution, 4-player split-screen, rewinding and saving of game progress, watching replays, and adding graphic filters to change the look of player's game.WEB, McWhertor, Michael, February 19, 2021, Three classic Blizzard games come to PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One today,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 24, 2021, Polygon, en, {{cbignore}}WEB, Blizzard Arcade Collection: Games, New Content, Release Date and More,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 24, 2021, gfinityesports.com, en, {{cbignore}} Additionally, it contains upgrades for each game such as enhanced local multiplayer for The Lost Vikings, new songs and artist performances for Rock n' Roll Racing, as well as a new level map for Blackthorne.WEB, Relive the Legacy: Announcing the Blizzard Arcade Collection,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, February 24, 2021, news.blizzard.com, en, {{cbignore}} A digital museum, which is included in the collection, features game art, unused content, and interviews.

Unreleased and future games

Notable unreleased titles include (Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans), which was canceled on May 22, 1998, Shattered Nations, and (StarCraft: Ghost), which was "Postponed indefinitely" on March 24, 2006, after being in development hell for much of its lifespan. After seven years of development, Blizzard revealed the cancellation of an unannounced MMO codenamed Titan on September 23, 2014.WEB,weblink Blizzard cancels its next-gen MMO Titan after seven years, Kollar, Philip, Polygon (website), Polygon, September 23, 2013, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140923203528weblink">weblink September 23, 2014, The company also has a history of declining to set release dates, choosing to instead take as much time as needed, generally saying a given product is "done when it's done."MAGAZINE, GamePro Staff,weblink GamePro Q&A: Blizzard's Jeff Kaplan on The Burning Crusade, GamePro, August 29, 2006, September 30, 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090114012421weblink">weblink January 14, 2009, Pax Imperia II was originally announced as a title to be published by Blizzard. Blizzard eventually dropped Pax Imperia II, though, when it decided it might be in conflict with their other space strategy project, which became known as StarCraft. THQ eventually contracted with Heliotrope and released the game in 1997 as (Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain).The company announced in January 2022 that it was near release of another new intellectual property, named Odyssey according to Bloomberg News, a survival game that had been at work at the studio for nearly six years before its cancellation in 2024.MAGAZINE, Wilde, Tyler, January 28, 2022, Blizzard's survival game has been in development for almost 5 years,weblink PC Gamer, January 28, 2022, Bloomberg stated that the game's origins came from World of Warcraft developer Craig Amai, and was originally prototyped using the Unreal Engine, which Blizzard licensed from Epic Games. When the game was revealed in 2022, about 100 employees were working on it, but around the same time, there was effort to switch from Unreal to Synapse, Blizzard's engine used for mobile games, though artists continued to develop assets in Unreal. Near when Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, there was an internal belief that they would be able to bring on more developers to complete the transition to Synapse and have the game ready for a 2026 release, but with the culling of 1,900 staff from Microsoft Gaming in January 2024, the game's development was cancelled.WEB,weblink Microsoft Cancels New Blizzard Video Game After Six Years of Development, Jason, Schreier, January 25, 2024, January 25, 2024, Bloomberg News,

Ports

The company, known at the time as the Silicon & Synapse, initially concentrated on porting other studio's games to computer platforms,{{Citation|title=The History of Blizzard - IGN|date=October 22, 2010|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/22/the-history-of-blizzard| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20210928weblink| archive-date=2021-09-28|language=en|access-date=February 7, 2021}}{{cbignore}} developing 8 ports between 1992 and 1993.

Company structure

As with most studios with multiple franchises, Blizzard Entertainment has organized different departments to oversee these franchises. Formally, since around the time of World of Warcraft in 2004, these have been denoted through simply numerical designations.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, The Three Lives Of Blizzard Entertainment, Philip, Kollar, October 3, 2014, January 25, 2021, Polygon (website), Polygon, {{cbignore}} The original three teams were:

• Team 1 manages the StarCraft property. The team also oversaw the development of the StarCraft spin-off Heroes of the Storm.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, The unlikely evolution of Heroes of the Storm, Ben, Sillis, May 3, 2015, January 25, 2021, Red Bull, {{cbignore}} Team 1 also included the Classics Team to work on remastering Blizzard's earlier properties for modern computers, which have included (StarCraft: Remastered) and (Warcraft III: Reforged).MAGAZINE,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, StarCraft: Remastered interview: 'Doing this right is keeping the core community happy', Kwanghee, Woo, July 3, 2017, January 26, 2021, PC Gamer, {{cbignore}} The Classic Games team was disbanded around August 2020, about eight months after Warcraft III: Reforged was released; according to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg News, this was due to Activision Blizzard driving Blizzard away from remastering its old properties, which figured into the launch issues with Warcraft III: Reforged.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, Blizzard Botched Warcraft III Remake After Internal Fights, Pressure Over Costs, Jason, Schreier, Jason Schreier, July 22, 2021, July 22, 2021, Bloomberg News, {{cbignore}}
• Team 2 continues to manage and create content for World of Warcraft.
• Team 3 oversees the Diablo franchise.

Since 2004, two new teams were created:

• Team 4 was created around 2007 to work on Blizzard's first new IP since World of Warcraft, that being Titan. Titan had development difficulties near 2013, and most of Team 4 was reallocated to the other teams, but the remaining members, led by Jeff Kaplan, revised Titan{{'}}s concept into Overwatch, which remains in Team 4's hands since its release in 2016.
• Team 5 was created in 2008 to explore smaller games that could fit into Blizzard's portfolio. This resulted in the creation of Hearthstone, a collectible card game based on the Warcraft property, which became Team 5's priority.

Technology

Battle.net 2.0

Blizzard Entertainment released its revamped Battle.net service in 2009. The platform provides online gaming, digital distribution, digital rights management, and social networking service. Battle.net allows people who have purchased Blizzard products to download digital copies of games they have purchased, without needing any physical media.On November 11, 2009, Blizzard required all World of Warcraft accounts to switch over to Battle.net accounts. This transition means that all current Blizzard titles can be accessed, downloaded, and played with a singular Battle.net login.World of Warcraft {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309102730weblink |date=March 9, 2009 }}. World of Warcraft. Retrieved July 8, 2011.Battle.net 2.0 is the platform for matchmaking service for Blizzard games, which offers players a host of additional features. Players are able to track their friend's achievements, view match history, avatars, etc. Players are able to unlock a wide range of achievements for Blizzard games.The service provides the user with community features such as friends lists and groups, and allows players to chat simultaneously with players from other Blizzard games using VoIP and instant messaging. For example, players no longer need to create multiple user names or accounts for most Blizzard products.WEB, Upcoming Blizzard Battle.Net Feature Draw From Warcraft, Xbox Live, Life,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, January 31, 2021, Kotaku, August 22, 2009, en-us, {{cbignore}}WEB, Kim, Matt, October 6, 2017, Battle.net Gets Some New Social Features Like Voice Chat and Social Channels,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, January 31, 2021, USgamer, en, {{cbignore}} To enable cross-game communication, players need to become either Battletag or Real ID friends.WEB, Blizzard announces new Battle.net BattleTags,weblink January 12, 2021, Engadget, July 15, 2016, en, January 13, 2021,weblink live,

Warden client

Blizzard Entertainment has made use of a special form of software known as the 'Warden Client'. The Warden client is known to be used with Blizzard's online games such as Diablo and World of Warcraft, and the Terms of Service contain a clause consenting to the Warden software's RAM scans while a Blizzard game is running.WoW -> Legal -> Terms of Use {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511183010weblink |date=May 11, 2008 }}. Worldofwarcraft.com (December 9, 2010). Retrieved July 8, 2011.The Warden client scans a small portion of the code segment of running processes in order to determine whether any third-party programs are running. The goal of this is to detect and address players who may be attempting to run unsigned code or third party programs in the game. This determination of third party programs is made by hashing the scanned strings and comparing the hashed value to a list of hashes assumed to correspond to banned third party programs.rootkit.com The Warden's reliability in correctly discerning legitimate versus illegitimate actions was called into question when a large-scale incident happened. This incident banned many Linux users after an update to Warden caused it to incorrectly detect Cedega as a cheat program.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080216041937weblink">Linux Users Banned From World of Warcraft? | Linuxlookup. Web.archive.org (February 16, 2008). Retrieved July 8, 2011. Blizzard issued a statement claiming they had correctly identified and restored all accounts and credited them with 20 days' play.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080803095822weblink">Blizzard Unbans Linux World of Warcraft Players | Linuxlookup. Web.archive.org (August 3, 2008). Retrieved July 8, 2011. Warden scans all processes running on a computer, not just the game, and could possibly run across what would be considered private information and other personally identifiable information. It is because of these peripheral scans that Warden has been accused of being spyware and has run afoul of controversy among privacy advocates.Guttridge, Luke. (November 8, 2005) WoW's Warden stirs controversy – news – play {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324053604weblink |date=March 24, 2009 }}. Play.tm. Retrieved July 8, 2011.Definitions and Supporting Documents {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807045637weblink |date=August 7, 2007 }}. Antispywarecoalition.org. Retrieved July 8, 2011.Look! what is Blizzard doing on your pc? – MMOsite News Center {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831115521weblink |date=August 31, 2007 }}. News.mmosite.com (November 27, 2006). Retrieved July 8, 2011.

Controversies and legal disputes

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. v. Valve Corporation

Shortly after Valve filed its trademark for "Dota" to secure the franchising rights for Dota 2, DotA-Allstars, LLC, run by former contributors to the game's predecessor, Defense of the Ancients, filed an opposing trademark in August 2010.MAGAZINE, Augustine, Josh,weblink Riot Games' dev counter-files "DotA" trademark, August 17, 2010, August 19, 2011, PC Gamer, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130203103306weblink">weblink February 3, 2013, DotA All-Stars, LLC was sold to Blizzard Entertainment in 2011. After the opposition was over-ruled in Valve's favor, Blizzard filed an opposition against Valve in November 2011, citing their license agreement with developers, as well as their ownership of DotA-Allstars, LLC.WEB,weblink Blizzard and Valve go to War Over DOTA Name, Plunkett, Luke, February 10, 2012, Kotaku, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120211081846weblink">weblink February 11, 2012, Blizzard conceded their case in May 2012, however, giving Valve undisputed commercial rights to Dota name, while Blizzard would rename their StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm mod "Blizzard All-Stars", which would eventually become the stand-alone game, Heroes of the Storm.MAGAZINE, Reilly, Jim,weblink Valve, Blizzard Reach DOTA Trademark Agreement, May 11, 2012, May 23, 2012, Game Informer, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120724090129weblink">weblink July 24, 2012,

California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard

Following a two-year investigation, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in July 2021 for gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment, principally within the Blizzard Entertainment workplace. The DFEH alleges that female employees were subjected to constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, retaliation, as well as discrimination based on pregnancy. The suit also described a "pervasive frat boy workplace culture" at Blizzard that included objectification of women's bodies and jokes about rape.WEB, 2021-08-08, Activision Blizzard scandal a 'watershed moment' for women in the gaming industry,weblink 2022-04-16, the Guardian, en, Activision Blizzard's statement described the suit as meritless, contending that action had been taken in any instances of misconduct. The company also objected to the DFEH not approaching them prior to filing.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, Activision Blizzard Sued By California For Allegedly Allowing "Frat Boy' Workplace Culture, Bruce, Haring, July 21, 2021, July 21, 2021, Deadline Hollywood, {{cbignore}} The lawsuit prompted an employee walkout, as well as leading J Allen Brack, and head of human resources, Jesse Meschuk, to step down.NEWS, 2021-08-03, Blizzard Entertainment president steps down, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2022-04-16, WEB, Hollister, Sean, 2021-08-03, Blizzard's head of HR is out,weblink 2022-04-16, The Verge, en, Because of these allegations, Blizzard changed names that referenced employees in multiple of its franchises, including Overwatch and World of Warcraft.WEB, Fillari, Alessandro, Overwatch devs reveal McCree's new name as Blizzard distances itself from controversy,weblink 2022-04-16, CNET, en,

Founder Electronics infringement lawsuit

On August 14, 2007, Beijing University Founder Electronics Co., Ltd. sued Blizzard Entertainment Limited for copyright infringement claiming 100 million yuan in damages. The lawsuit alleged the Chinese edition of World of Warcraft reproduced a number of Chinese typefaces made by Founder Electronics without permission.Founder prosecuting Blizzard online game World of Warcraft Tort Claiming 100 million yuan {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017071220weblink |date=October 17, 2010 }}. Foundertype.com (August 14, 2007). Retrieved July 8, 2011.

FreeCraft

On June 20, 2003, Blizzard issued a cease and desist letter to the developers of an open-source clone of the Warcraft engine called FreeCraft, claiming trademark infringement. This hobby project had the same gameplay and characters as Warcraft II, but came with different graphics and music.As well as a similar name, FreeCraft enabled players to use Warcraft II graphics, provided they had the Warcraft II CD. The programmers of the clone shut down their site without challenge. Soon after that the developers regrouped to continue the work by the name of Stratagus.Howard Wen, Stratagus: Open Source Strategy Games linuxdevcenter.com July 15, 2004 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111218162202weblink |date=December 18, 2011 }}. Linuxdevcenter.com. Retrieved July 8, 2011.

Hearthstone ban and Hong Kong protests

During an October 2019 Hearthstone Grandmasters streaming event in Taiwan, one player Ng Wai Chung, going by his online alias "Blitzchung" used an interview period to show support for the protestors in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. Shortly afterwards, on October 7, 2019, Blitzchung was disqualified from the current tournament and forfeited his winnings to date, and banned for a one-year period. The two shoutcasters engaged in the interview were also penalized with similar bans. Blizzard justified the ban as from its Grandmasters tournament rules that prevents players from anything that "brings [themselves] into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages [Blizzard's] image".NEWS,weblink Hearthstone player banned for supporting Hong Kong protesters during live stream, Porter, Jon, October 8, 2019, The Verge, live,weblink October 8, 2019, October 8, 2019, NEWS,weblink Blizzard Entertainment Bans Esports Player After Pro-Hong Kong Comments, Zialcita, Paolo, October 8, 2019, NPR, live,weblink October 8, 2019, October 8, 2019, NEWS,weblink Activision Suspends Esports Player Who Backed Hong Kong Protesters, Needleman, Sarah E., October 8, 2019, The Wall Street Journal, live,weblink October 8, 2019, October 8, 2019, Blizzard's response led to several protests from current Hearthstone players, other video game players, and criticism from Blizzard's employees, fearing that Blizzard was giving into the censorship of the Chinese government.NEWS,weblink Blizzard Bans Gamer, Rescinds Money, on Hong Kong Protest Support, Hunter, Gregor Stuart, Huang, Zheping, October 8, 2019, Bloomberg News, live,weblink October 8, 2019, October 8, 2019, Protests were held, including through the 2019 BlizzCon in early November, to urge Blizzard to reverse their bans.WEB,weblink Hong Kong protesters are assembling outside of BlizzCon, Nicole, Carpenter, November 1, 2019, November 1, 2019, Polygon (website), Polygon, November 1, 2019,weblink live, The situation also drew the attention of several U.S. lawmakers, fearing that Blizzard, as a U.S. company, was letting China dictate how it handled speech and also urged the bans to be reversed.MAGAZINE,weblink Bipartisan members of congress call on Blizzard to reverse Blitzchung punishment, Andy, Chalk, October 18, 2019, October 18, 2019, PC Gamer, October 19, 2019,weblink live, Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack wrote an open letter on October 11, 2019, apologizing for the way Blizzard handled the situation, and reduced the bans for both Blitzchung and the casters to six months. Brack reiterated that while they support free speech and their decision was in no way tied to the Chinese government, they want players and casters to avoid speaking beyond the tournament and the games in such interviews.WEB,weblink Blizzard Finally Comments On Hearthstone Debacle, Reduces Suspensions And Returns Prize Money, Nathan, Grayson, October 11, 2019, October 11, 2019, Kotaku, October 12, 2019,weblink live,

King's "Diversity Tool" controversy

On May 12, 2022, Blizzard Entertainment released a blog post about the Diversity Space Tool, developed by a team at King – a mobile business unit at Activision Blizzard – alongside the MIT Game Lab. Jacqueline Chomatas, King's globalization project manager, described the tool as a "measurement device" to analyze how diverse the characters are "when compared to the 'norm'". The post showed example images of the tool being used on Overwatch's cast, with graphs showing breakdowns of the character attributes, and stated that "The Overwatch 2 team at Blizzard has also had a chance to experiment with the tool, with equally enthusiastic first impressions." Blizzard shared the intent to release the tool during the summer and fall of 2022, with the goal of "making the tool available to the industry as a whole".WEB,weblink King's Diversity Space Tool, Alt, Eric, May 12, 2022, dead,weblink May 12, 2022, The tool received heavy backlash online. Many people asked why Blizzard would create the tool instead of hiring diverse teams, and raised questions regarding the tool's rating scale.WEB,weblink Overwatch creators explain they didn't use King's 'creepy' diversity charts, Macgregor, Jody, May 15, 2022, PC Gamer, April 1, 2023, WEB,weblink Activision Blizzard Heavily Edits King's Diversity Generator Blog, Removes All 'Ranking' Images, Tassi, Paul, May 14, 2022, Forbes, April 1, 2023, The blog post originally suggested that the tool was used in an active development, mainly for Overwatch, which led some Blizzard employees working on the game to publicly deny the tool was used in Overwatch development and to criticize the tool further. On May 13, 2022, the blog post was edited to remove the example images of the tool and any mention of Overwatch.WEB,weblink King's Diversity Space Tool, Alt, Eric, May 12, 2022, dead,weblink May 14, 2022, Later, the post was deleted altogether.

MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

On July 14, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona ruled on the case MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.. The Court found that MDY was liable for copyright infringement since users of its Glider bot program were breaking the End User License Agreement and Terms of Use for World of Warcraft. MDY Industries appealed the judgment of the district court, and a judgment was delivered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 14, 2010, in which the summary judgment against MDY for contributory copyright infringement was reversed.WEB,weblink MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., et al. – Filing: 920101214, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110809185925weblink">weblink August 9, 2011, WEB,weblink Opinions - uscourts.gov, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110807215541weblink">weblink August 7, 2011, Nevertheless, they ruled that the bot violated the DMCA and the case was sent back to the district court for review in light of this decision.NEWS,weblink A Mixed Ninth Circuit Ruling in MDY v. Blizzard: WoW Buyers Are Not Owners – But Glider Users Are Not Copyright Infringers Legal Analysis, McSherry, Corynne, December 14, 2010, live,weblink July 21, 2016, Electronic Frontier Foundation, WEB, Fred, von Lohmann,weblink Fred von Lohmann, You Bought It, You Own It: MDY v. Blizzard Appealed, Electronic Frontier Foundation, September 25, 2009, October 8, 2009, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090929091541weblink">weblink September 29, 2009, MDY v. Blizzard{{'}}s decision did affirm a prior Ninth Circuit ruling in Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc. that software licenses, such as the one used by Blizzard for WoW, were enforceable and enshrined the principle that video games could be sold as licenses to players rather than purchased. This ruling, though limited to the states of the Ninth Circuit, has been used by the industry to continue to sell games as licenses to users.JOURNAL, Eichner, Andrew W., Game Over, Insert Coin to Continue: Entering a New Era of Video Game Intellectual Property Enforcement., IDEA, 53, 2013, 101,

Privacy controversy and Real ID

On July 6, 2010, Blizzard Entertainment announced that they were changing the way their forums worked to require that users identify themselves with their real name.WEB,weblink Battle.net Update: Upcoming Changes to the Forums, Nethaera, July 6, 2010, Battle.net, Battle.net forums, Blizzard Entertainment, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100709053633weblink">weblink July 9, 2010, April 1, 2014, WEB,weblink Official forum changes, real life names to be displayed, Holisky, Adam, July 6, 2010, WoW Insider, Joystiq, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130909195221weblink">weblink September 9, 2013, February 7, 2011, The reaction from the community was overwhelmingly negative with multiple game magazines calling the change "foolhardy"WEB,weblink Fans rage over Blizzard forum plans, Robinson, Andy, July 7, 2010, Computer and Video Games#Website, Computer and Video Games, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110123222639weblink">weblink January 23, 2011, and an "epic fail".MAGAZINE,weblink Why Blizzard's new forum plan is an epic fail, Edwards, Tim, July 7, 2010, PC Gamer, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100710041543weblink">weblink July 10, 2010, July 8, 2011, It resulted in a significant user response on the Blizzard forums, including one thread on the issue reaching over 11,000 replies.NEWS,weblink Row over gamers' true identities, July 7, 2010, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100717130458weblink">weblink July 17, 2010, BBC News, WEB,weblink Blizzard: post about StarCraft 2? Use your real name, Kuchera, Ben, July 6, 2010, Ars Technica, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110911173000weblink">weblink September 11, 2011, WEB,weblink Blizzard's responses on the Real ID situation, Holisky, Adam, July 6, 2010, WoW Insider, Joystiq, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101219222820weblink">weblink December 19, 2010, February 7, 2011, WEB,weblink Blizzard's Real ID Removes Anonymity From Their Forums, July 6, 2010, Digital Something, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110629212618weblink">weblink June 29, 2011, WEB,weblink Blizzard forums to require real names, Welsh, Oli, July 7, 2010, Eurogamer, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100710125644weblink">weblink July 10, 2010, This included personal details of a Blizzard employee who gave his real name "to show it wasn't a big deal".WEB,weblink You Want Your Real Name Publicly Associated With Your World Of Warcraft Account, Right?, Northrup, Laura, July 6, 2010, Consumerist, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100709125225weblink">weblink July 9, 2010, Shortly after revealing his real name, forum users posted personal information including his phone number, picture, age, home address, family members, and favorite TV shows and films.Some technology media outlets suggested that displaying real names through Real ID is a good idea and would benefit both Battle.net and the Blizzard community.weblink {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081117211650weblink|date=November 17, 2008}} But others were worried that Blizzard was opening their fans up to real-life dangers such as stalking, harassment, and employment issues, since a simple Internet search by someone's employer can reveal their online activities.WEB,weblink Is Blizzard's Real ID Safe, Or A Playground For Sexual Deviants?, June 24, 2010, Voodoo Extreme, IGN, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100628055329weblink">weblink June 28, 2010, Geeking Out About... » 21st Century Digital REDACTED {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710154407weblink|date=July 10, 2010}}. Geekingoutabout.com (July 6, 2010). Retrieved July 8, 2011.WEB,weblink Blizzard forces users to show real names, Farrell, Nick, July 7, 2010, TechEye, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100710213846weblink">weblink July 10, 2010, Blizzard initially responded to some of the concerns by saying that the changes would not be retroactive to previous posts, that parents could set up the system so that minors cannot post, and that posting to the forums is optional. However, due to the significant negative response, Blizzard President Michael Morhaime issued a statement rescinding the plan to use real names on Blizzard's forums for the time being.World of Warcraft – English (NA) Forums -> Regarding real names in forums {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710155217weblink |date=July 10, 2010 }}. Forums.worldofwarcraft.com. Retrieved July 8, 2011. The idea behind this plan was to allow players who had a relationship outside of the games to find each other more easily across all the Blizzard game titles.WEB,weblink World of Warcraft Forums, us.battle.net, November 29, 2018,weblink November 29, 2018, live,

StarCraft privacy and other lawsuits

In 1998, Donald P. Driscoll, an Albany, California, attorney filed a suit on behalf of Intervention, Inc., a California consumer group, against Blizzard Entertainment for "unlawful business practices" for the action of collecting data from a user's computer without their permission.Errata: Blizzard Entertainment {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707014852weblink |date=July 7, 2007 }}. Attrition.org. Retrieved July 8, 2011.WEB,weblink The 10 best video games of 2010, Steinberg, Scott, December 29, 2010, CNN, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190218152525weblink">weblink February 18, 2019, February 5, 2012, On May 19, 2014, Blizzard Entertainment filed a lawsuit in federal court in California, alleging that the unidentified programmers were involved in creation of software that hacks Starcraft II. Most of the alleged charges are related to copyright infringement.WEB, Strebeck, Zachary, 2014-06-06, Legal News: Blizzard files lawsuit against Starcraft 2 hackers,weblink 2023-03-30, Video Game Lawyer {{!, Zachary C. Strebeck {{!}} Attorney at Law |language=en-US}}NEWS, 2014-05-21, Blizzard sues Starcraft II cheat hackers, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2023-03-30, Back in May 2010, MBCPlus Media, which operates the network MBCGame (Korean television stations that are broadcasting tournaments built around StarCraft), was revealed to be sued by Blizzard for broadcasting StarCraft tournaments without the company's consent, insisting that StarCraft is not a public domain offering, as Blizzard has invested significant money and resources to create the StarCraft game.WEB, Blizzard Sues Korean Television Network Over Unauthorized StarCraft: Brood War Tournament,weblink 2023-04-03, Shacknews, November 2010, en,

World of Warcraft private server complications

On December 5, 2008, Blizzard Entertainment issued a cease and desist letter to many administrators of high population World of Warcraft private servers (essentially slightly altered hosting servers of the actual World of Warcraft game, that players do not have to pay for). Blizzard used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to influence many private servers to fully shut down and cease to exist.WEB,weblink Blizzard legal targets private servers, Ziebart, Alex, December 23, 2010, WoW Insider, Joystiq, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101223123029weblink">weblink December 23, 2010, October 12, 2009,

Related companies

Over the years, some former Blizzard Entertainment employees have moved on and established gaming companies of their own. Several of these occurred following the merger between Activision Holdings and Blizzard's parent company at the time, Vivendi Games in 2008, and more recently as Activision Blizzard has directed Blizzard away from properties like Warcraft and Starcraft that are not seen as financial boons to the larger company. These employees left to form their smaller studios to give themselves the creative freedom that they were lacking at Blizzard. Collectively these studios are known as "Blizzard 2.0".WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, 'Blizzard 2.0' Storms In to Make the Games Blizzard No Longer Wants To, Jason, Schreier, Jason Schreier, June 3, 2021, June 3, 2021, Bloomberg News, {{cbignore}}

• ArenaNet,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061206085726weblink">ArenaNet. Web.archive.org (December 6, 2006). Retrieved July 8, 2011. creators of the Guild Wars franchise.
• Bonfire Studios,WEB, Former Blizzard devs form Bonfire Studios, net $25M in funding,weblink Kerr, Chris, www.gamasutra.com, September 12, 2016, en, May 30, 2020, November 5, 2020,weblink live, founded by Rob Pardo.
• Carbine Studios,Carbine Studios {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001651weblink |date=October 11, 2007 }}. Carbine Studios. Retrieved July 8, 2011. now defunct as of September 2018, after releasing a massively multiplayer title WildStar.WEB,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, WildStar Developer Carbine Studios Shuts Down, Jason, Schreier, Jason Schreier, September 8, 2018, February 11, 2021, Kotaku, {{cbignore}}
• Castaway Entertainment,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080112065616weblink">About Castaway Entertainment. Web.archive.org (January 12, 2008). Retrieved July 8, 2011. now defunct, after working on a game similar to the Diablo series, Djinn.
• Dreamhaven,{{Citation|title=Blizzard Co-Founder Opens New Game Company, Dreamhaven, Developing Two Games – IGN|date=September 23, 2020|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/mike-morhaime-new-company-blizzard-dreamhaven-secret-door-moonshot|language=en|access-date=September 23, 2020|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924002214weblink|url-status=live}} founded by Michael Morhaime.
• Fantastic Pixel Castle,WEB, Fantastic Pixel Castle's announcement via Twitter, October 2, 2023,weblink founded by Greg Street, working on a new combat-focused MMO, codenamed "Ghost."
• Flagship Studios,WEB,weblink About Flagship Studios,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071212114426weblink">weblink December 12, 2007, now defunct, creators of (Hellgate: London), also worked on Mythos.
• Frost Giant Studios,WEB, Blizzard vets form Frost Giant Studios,weblink December 8, 2020, GamesIndustry.biz, October 20, 2020, en, November 28, 2020,weblink live, founded by Tim Morten and Tim Campbell, currently developing real-time strategy game Stormgate.
• Hyboreal Games,WEB,weblink Hyboreal Games Q&A – Shacknews – video games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and download, July 2011, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150303184401weblink">weblink March 3, 2015, founded by Michio Okamura.
• Magic Soup Games,WEB, Former Blizzard Leaders J. Allen Brack and Jen Oneal Reemerge to Start New Studio,weblink March 2023, founded by J. Allen Brack and Jen Oneal.
• Ready at Dawn Studios,WEB,weblink About Ready At Dawn Studios,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070210074447weblink">weblink February 10, 2007, creators of (The Order: 1886), Daxter, (God of War: Chains of Olympus) and an ÅŒkami port for the Wii.
• Red 5 Studios,WEB,weblinkweblink" title="archive.today/20120714212759weblink">weblink dead, July 14, 2012, Red 5 Studios, July 23, 2019, now defunct, creators of Firefall, a free to play game MMOG.
• Runic Games,WEB,weblink Captaining The Lifeboat: Runic Games' Max Schaefer and Travis Baldree, Hollister, Sean, August 14, 2008, GameCyte, dead,weblink March 9, 2009, April 11, 2009, now defunct, founded by Travis Baldree, Erich Schaefer, and Max Schaefer; creators of Torchlight.
• Second Dinner,WEB, January 3, 2019, Ben Brode's Second Dinner orders a Marvel license and $30 million from NetEase,weblink September 23, 2020, VentureBeat, en-US, October 29, 2020,weblink live, founded by Ben Brode, creators of Marvel Snap.
• Uncapped Games,WEB, Valentine, Rebekah, 2021-06-30, Ex-Blizzard Developers Partner With Tencent to Form Uncapped Games, Working on an RTS Title,weblink 2022-06-11, IGN, en, founded by David Kim and Jason Hughes.

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

• MAGAZINE, Winkie, Luke, How Blizzard Transforms Its Fans Into Employees, Wired (magazine), Wired, February 27, 2021,weblinkweblink 2021-09-28, en-us, 1059-1028, {{cbignore}}

External links

{{Commons category|Blizzard Entertainment}}

• {{Official websiteweblink}}

{{Blizzard Entertainment|state=expanded}}{hide}Navboxes|title=Blizzard Entertainment franchises|list= }}{{Microsoft game products}}{{Authority control}}