Blizzard Entertainment Turns 30, Get Ready To Celebrate With BlizzCon Online.
Founded in 1991, Blizzard Entertainment has grown to be one of the leaders in the games industry. Three grads from the University of California; Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearceset out on an epic venture to build a glorious kingdom for players around the world.
Its All In A Name…
As I mentioned Blizzard was founded back in 1991… but at the time it was called ‘Silicon & Synapse.’ Like many companies, things evolve. In fact, in 1993 they changed the name to ‘Chaos Studios.’ In 1994, it was acquired by Davidson & Associates for a whopping $6.75 million ($11.6 million by today’s standards). Not too long after they were contacted by Chaos Technologies, who wanted $100,000 for the name. Instead of paying, they opted to rename the company. They almost changed the name to ‘Ogre Studios’, however Davidson & Associates was not keen on that idea. As legend has it, Adham began looking through the dictionary for any word could get through the all-powerful gates of the legal department. One of the first words that sparked interest was BLIZZARD… and well we know the rest of the story.
Enter Warcraft…
Now I have to be careful with this part as I know the lore of Blizzard is quite sacred, and I do not want the wrath of fans coming down on me if I get anything wrong… but I will try my best.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans was released for MS DOS in North American on November 23rd, 1994. In one year, they sold over 100,000 units! The game sold over 300,000 copies. In early 1996, the game became available for Mac OS.
When a game is such a big hit, you can imagine that sequel will come and in 1995 Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness was set free into the realm of gamers. This was followed by an expansion in 1996 entitled Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.
The saga continued with Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos in July 2002. Again sorry if I left anything out. Fans and critics went wild.
Then another milestone was set when Blizzard launched World of Warcraft in 2004. WoW became the most profitable game in 2007 and the most popular MMORPG in 2008. And let’s not forget it was solidified in history with the Southpark episode ‘Make Love, Not Warcraft’ in 2004. Love it or hate… Warcraft was here to stay and has been written into pop culture history.
Activision Merger
It was tough deciding where to mention this in the article… but I do believe this is a good place as any.
Activision was experiencing tough times in 2006, CEO Bobby Kotick was working to remedy this. He saw that was bringing in over $1 billion in a year in subscriptions, and since Activision was lacking anything in the MMO market it caught his eye. So he approached Vivendi’s Jean-Bernard Lévy. Vivendi’s games division(which included Blizzard Entertainment) was also struggling, so Lévy was open to the idea of a merger. Of course, Lévy was smart… he knew the value of World of Warcraft, so he allowed the merger with the condition that he controlled the majority of the combined company.
By mid 2008, the merger was complete and Vivendi Games was dissolved with the exception of Blizzard Entertainment. Hence the company was named Activision Blizzard.
More Than Just Orcs And Ogres
Of course, Blizzard decided it was wise to diversify and create other games and it did. Now, I am not going to name them all… but I do think it is important to talk about them.
Diablo was launched in 1997. Players entered the Kingdom of Khanduras. Battling underneath the town of Tristram one would work his or her way to Hell in order to face Diablo.
Blizzard allowed players to enter the futuristic universe set in Koprulu Sector, a distant part of the Milky Way Galaxy, with its 1998 release of StarCraft. Taking place in a universe created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney players were able to experience something different from Diablo and WarCraft.
During the course of Blizzard’s history, card games became popular. So Blizzard came up with a digital answer to this phenomenon with the release of Hearthstone in 2014. Originally it was going to be titled Heroes of WarCraft, of course in the games industry titles changes during the development process. Hearthstone builds upon the existing lore of the Warcraft series by using the same elements, characters, and relics.
One year later, give or take, Blizzard released Heroes of the Storm. The game revolves around online 5-versus-5 matches which feature various characters from Blizzard’s franchises as playable heroes. A clever way to bring fans from all the games together to share in the excitement.
If you are following me, you can guess where I am taking you next. That’s right OVERWATCH. I admit, I am an Overwatch junkie with the Funko Pops to prove it! Launched in 2016, the game is a multiplayer first person shooter… where for the most part you play in teams. It was Blizzard’s fourth major franchise and came about after the cancellation of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, known as Titan. I do not think I can even mention Overwatch without briefly talking about Jeff Kaplan. He and his team only had a few months to come up with an idea. Using some of the assets of Titan, he and his team created a modern/futuristic world after the Omnic Crisis. Now you can play popular characters such as D.Va, Mercy, Windowmaker and Solider 76. The cast of heroes has grown since the release. I do admit I have changed my mains over time, but I do tend to play as Sombra and Symmetra on my PS4. In the process, I have met several other Overwatch players that have become good friends over the years. So that is my nerdy shout-out to them.
For a full list of games visit this Wikipedia page.
Esports
I do not think you can talk about Blizzard without mentioning esports. Let’s face it, it has to come up.
I guess, this is the best place to mention Battle.net which was launched on December 31st, 1996. Battle.net is Blizzard’s online game, social networking service, digital distribution, and digital rights management platform. The platform was revamped in 2009 and for a brief period even changed its name in 2017.
Blizzard has dominated esports along with some other studios. This has lead to some players becoming legends and earning money playing their favorite games. Pretty much every Blizzard title has been played by talented teams across the globe. Which has led to partnerships with other companies such as Secretlabs. Trust me when I say competitive play can be amazing even on a non-pro level. But when you get into the pro level…. forget about it, I know I would not last a second. I admit it.
I could drag the esports section out, but I think I will dive into the Overwatch League (I already mentioned I am an Overwatch nerd). OWL follows the traditional esports model where teams are city-based backed by separate owners. Announced at the 2016 BlizzCon and was strongly supported by Bobby Kotick. He wanted OWL to follow a model based on traditional American team sports. In 2017, Blizzard converted Studio 1 at The Burbank Studios and converted it into the Blizzard Arena.
In 2018, Blizzard partnered with Twitch and then in 2019 with ESPN. Thus allowing fans from around the world to watch the games live.
Again, please do not kill me for skipping into the Overwatch League and leaving out the other franchises…
The Silver Screen
Premiering in Paris on May 24th, 2016, Draenor came to life along with its inhabitants. The film was produced by Universal Pictures and raked in over $439 million worldwide. Unfortunately, the film under performed and received negative reviews. It still managed to win some awards as the animation and visual effects were top-notch.
It was rumored that Netflix would be launching animated versions of Overwatch and Diablo. This was discussed around February 2020… but (and correct me if I am wrong) there has not been anything mentioned. However, since we are still waiting for Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2… it might be awhile if these do end up on our favorite streaming service. It would be intriguing if it were to happen, but then again… if done wrong it could be a mess.
Community and BlizzCon
There is no doubt about it… community is what drives the games industry. Over the years Blizzard has developed a large community of dedicated fans. Gamers, artists, cosplayers… you name it, Blizzard has something for everyone. Needless to say it was a smart move by Blizzard to create an event that would bring all of its fans together.
The first BlizzCon took place in October 2005. Tickets that year were $100 and soared to $229 in 2019.
Being that BlizzCon takes place in Irvine, California and not every fan can attend… Blizzard launched an online PPV event for 2009 for $39.99. The price has since gone up to $49.99. But if you think about the price of plane tickets and accommodations $49.99 is a bargain.
What can one expect at BlizzCon?
A lot actually. First you get to meet fans from around the world. So it is a perfect time for people who only know each other online to meet up in person.
BlizzCon also features competitions and of course esports events. One can also take part in the March of Murlocs, cosplay competitions, portfolio reviews and meet the recruitment teams… in case you want to land a job at Blizzard.
But most importantly, you get all the updates regarding the various franchises. Which has gone over good for the most part, except when Blizzard announced Diablo: Immortal for mobile in 2018… which kind of sent upset fans into a frenzy. But no worries they came back to announce the development of Diablo IV in 2019. Hey we all make mistakes, it might have been a hiccup… but fans still love Blizzard.
The closing ceremonies have featured some big-name musicians such as The Offspring, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Blink 182, etc.
In a previous article I wrote, I go more into detail about Blizzard’s community and BlizzCon. In 2018, I was able to hear Blizzard’s Saralyn Smith speak at Devcom here in Germany. I decided to cover her lecture as press. So if you want to learn more make sure to check it out… HERE. It covers everything including “The Red Shirt Guy!”
BlizzCon and Corona
Well, it is not surprising that Corona has impacted the video game industry. Events such as E3 and Gamescom were canceled last year along with BlizzCon. However, Blizzard announced that a mobile version of BlizzCon would take place on February 19th through 21st… and it is FREE!
Usually, with the purchase of a BlizzCon ticket, you get swag and digital content. Well, this year Blizzard is selling it online. The Essentials, Heroic and Epic Packs range from $19.99 to $59.99. Which is fine, I get it… the conferences if free this year, so this pulls in some revenue.
Fans are expecting updates about Diablo IV and Overwatch 2. Which most likely has been postponed until 2022. So I think fans are looking forward to that… and for anything that will hold them over until 2022.
I am also curious about what they will launch in the Blizzard Gear Store online. I expect that page to be a frenzy on the 19th… and things to sell out quickly.
All in all, I think Blizzard is doing a good job with bringing BlizzCon online. I mean allowing people to submit portfolios from around the world is something that I think is great as recruiters tend to not attend European events. HEY BLIZZARD…. GAMESCOM AND DEVCOM HINT HINT… SEND YOUR RECRUITERS! I will even buy them around of German beer if they come. Actually, when Blizzard has come to Gamescom in the past I have set up meetings at the Blizzard booth in the business area… but would really love to connect with their recruiters in person.
ONLINE COMMUNITY
It is also important to mention that Blizzard has a massive online community where gamers, cosplayers and artists interact. Many of the Blizzard employees also get involved in discussions. This has lead to the addition of in-game content.
BlizzLife
There is one other topic I think is fun to mention… working at Blizzard. Now, I have never worked for Blizzard, but I have met several of their employees at Gamescom.
What I can say is that their employees are treated well from what I have heard. If you are on LinkedIn you will see posts where people celebrate their work anniversary. I have to say their employee service awards are epic. After 2 years you get a beer stein… 5 years a sword… 10 years a shield… 15 years a ring… and 20 years the HELM. From my understanding, the sword has changed over the years. Also, I know there is a male and female version of the ring. Can you imagine being at Blizzard for 20 years and receiving all these awards?
Now, in today’s world why would someone stay with a company so long? Blizzard prides itself on diversity. If you go to LinkedIn and in the search look up BlizzLife you will see that the company really strives to be the best. Blizzard has supported the Grace Hopper Celebration and Pride Week. They also strongly support racial diversity and veterans.
WRAP
It does not matter which Blizzard Entertainment game you play, I guarantee you will love it.
The company has had an amazing journey and has a massive fan following around the world. Only a company dedicated to its fans can create such a legacy. Just look at Blizzard’s core values and you will see the ideals that have lead to their success.
Blizzard always has interesting surprises during BlizzCon… I guess we will have to wait to see where the next 30 years takes us. If it is anything like the first 30, I expect it to be an epic journey filled with adventure and fun!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BLIZZARD GAME? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!!!!
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