Blizzard Entertainment facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Blizzard Entertainment's Irvine campus
Formerly	Silicon & Synapse, Inc. (1991–1993) Chaos Studios, Inc. (1993–1994)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	February 1991; 34 years ago (1991-02)
Founders	Allen Adham Michael Morhaime Frank Pearce
Headquarters	Irvine, California , US
Number of locations	9 studios and offices
Key people	Johanna Faries (president)
Products	Diablo series Hearthstone Heroes of the Storm Overwatch series StarCraft series Warcraft series
Services	Battle.net
Parent	Davidson & Associates (1994–1998) Vivendi Games (1998–2008) Activision Blizzard (2008–present)
Subsidiaries	Blizzard Albany Blizzard Boston
Primary ASN 57976

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is a famous American company that makes and publishes video games. It is located in Irvine, California. The company started in February 1991 as Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three friends from the University of California, Los Angeles: Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce, and Allen Adham.

At first, the company mostly made games for other studios. But in 1993, they started making their own games, like Rock n' Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings. In 1993, the company changed its name to Chaos Studios, Inc.. Soon after, it became Blizzard Entertainment when a company called Davidson & Associates bought it in 1994. After that, Blizzard released their hit game Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.

Since then, Blizzard Entertainment has made many popular games. These include more Warcraft games, like the huge online role-playing game World of Warcraft (released in 2004). They also created three other very popular game series: Diablo, StarCraft and Overwatch. Their newer games include the online card game Hearthstone; the team battle game Heroes of the Storm; and new versions of their classic games like StarCraft: Remastered. They also released sequels like Overwatch 2, Dragonflight, and Diablo IV. All these games use Blizzard's online service called Battle.net.

In 2008, Activision merged with Vivendi Games, and the new company was called Activision Blizzard. In 2013, Activision Blizzard became a fully independent company. In October 2023, Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard. Blizzard Entertainment still makes and publishes games as part of the larger Microsoft Gaming family.

Blizzard Entertainment also holds yearly events called BlizzCon for their fans. The first BlizzCon was in October 2005 in Anaheim, California. These events announce new games, show previews, have Q&A sessions, costume contests, and let fans try out new games.

How Blizzard Entertainment Started

Early Days (1991–1994)

Blizzard co-founder and former CEO Mike Morhaime

Blizzard Entertainment was founded by Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce. They named it Silicon & Synapse in February 1991. All three had just finished college at the University of California, Los Angeles. The name "Silicon & Synapse" was a clever idea. "Silicon" meant the parts of a computer, and "synapse" meant the parts of a brain.

To start the company, each founder put in about $10,000. Michael Morhaime borrowed his share from his grandmother. For the first two years, the company mostly changed games to work on different computers. They worked on games like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I. In 1993, they started making their own games, such as Rock n' Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings.

Around 1993, Allen Adham decided he didn't like the name "Silicon & Synapse" anymore. By the end of 1993, they changed the name to "Chaos Studios". This name showed how creative and sometimes messy their game-making process was.

In early 1994, a company called Davidson & Associates bought them for $6.75 million. Soon after, another company named Chaos Technologies wanted them to pay $100,000 to keep the name "Chaos Studios". Not wanting to pay, they decided to change the name to "Ogre Studios". However, Davidson & Associates didn't like that name either.

So, the founders looked through a dictionary for new names. They sent any interesting words to their legal team to check. One of the first words they liked and that was approved was "blizzard". This led them to change their name to "Blizzard Entertainment" in May 1994.

Soon after, Blizzard Entertainment released their first big hit, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. This was a real-time strategy game (RTS) set in a fantasy world.

Joining Vivendi and World of Warcraft (1995–2007)

Blizzard Entertainment has been owned by different companies over the years. In 1996, Davidson was bought by CUC International. CUC then merged with another company to form Cendant in 1997. In 1998, Cendant sold its software companies, including Blizzard, to a French publisher called Havas. Havas was then bought by Vivendi in the same year. Blizzard, with about 200 employees, became part of the Vivendi Games group.

In 1996, Blizzard Entertainment bought Condor Games, a studio working on the game Diablo for Blizzard. Condor Games was renamed Blizzard North. Blizzard's main office in Irvine was then called Blizzard South. Diablo was released in early 1997 along with Battle.net, an online service for the game. Blizzard North then made Diablo II (2000) and its expansion Lord of Destruction (2001). Later, in 2005, Blizzard North joined the main Blizzard offices in Irvine.

After the success of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Blizzard started making a science-fiction strategy game called StarCraft. It came out in March 1998. StarCraft was the best-selling PC game that year. It also helped Battle.net grow and became popular for esports (organized video game competitions).

Around 2000, Blizzard worked with another studio on a StarCraft game for game consoles. This game, StarCraft: Ghost, was a stealth game instead of a strategy game. It was shown at big game events. However, the game had many problems during development. Blizzard stopped working on StarCraft: Ghost in 2004. They decided to cancel it because new game consoles were coming out, and they didn't want to spend more time updating it.

Blizzard began working on a sequel to Warcraft II in 1998. This game, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, was released in July 2002. Warcraft III had a big impact on future games, especially in the real-time strategy and multiplayer online battle arena styles. Many characters and ideas from Warcraft III became important in other Blizzard games.

In 2002, Blizzard got back the rights to three of their older games: The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing, and Blackthorne. They re-released these games for the Game Boy Advance.

In 2004, Blizzard opened new offices in Paris, France, to help with their European players.

Blizzard Entertainment released World of Warcraft (WoW) on November 23, 2004, in North America. It's a huge online role-playing game based on the Warcraft world. By December 2004, it was the fastest-selling PC game in the United States. By March 2005, 1.5 million people around the world were playing it. Blizzard worked with a Chinese company called The9 to release World of Warcraft in China.

By the end of 2007, World of Warcraft was a global hit. It had over 9 million players and earned over $1 billion. In 2008, it was estimated that WoW had 62% of all online role-playing game players. Blizzard's staff grew from about 400 employees in 2004 to 1600 by 2006 to support the game. Blizzard moved its main office to a larger building in Irvine, California, in 2007.

Because World of Warcraft was so successful, Blizzard Entertainment held its first BlizzCon fan convention in October 2005. This event brought together about 6,000 people. BlizzCon became a yearly event where Blizzard announces new games and updates.

Activision Merger and Continued Growth (2008–2017)

In 2008, Activision merged with Vivendi Games, which owned Blizzard. The new company was named Activision Blizzard. This merger helped Activision get into the online game market, especially with World of Warcraft.

Blizzard made a deal with a Chinese company called NetEase in August 2008. This deal was to publish Blizzard's games in China, including StarCraft II. StarCraft II was becoming very popular for esports in Asia. Later, in 2009, Blizzard also moved World of Warcraft operations in China to NetEase.

They released an improved version of Battle.net (Battle.net 2.0) in March 2009. This new version made it easier to find games, buy things, and supported all of Blizzard's games better.

World of Warcraft had its highest number of players, 12 million, in 2010. While the number of players changed over time, World of Warcraft is still the most popular online role-playing game in the world. In 2008, Blizzard won an Emmy Award for creating World of Warcraft.

After the merger, Blizzard started making smaller teams to create new game ideas. One team came up with a collectible card game based on the Warcraft world. This game became Hearthstone, released for free in March 2014. Hearthstone had over 25 million players by the end of 2014 and over 100 million by 2018.

Another small team started working on a new game idea around 2008. This project was called Titan. It was meant to be a new online role-playing game. However, Titan had many problems and was canceled in 2013. Most of the team moved to other projects. But about 40 people, led by Jeff Kaplan, were given a few weeks to come up with a new idea. This small team created a team-based shooter game using parts of Titan. This new game became Overwatch, released in May 2016. Overwatch became Blizzard's fourth main game series, joining Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

During this time, Blizzard Entertainment also made sequels and expansions for its existing games. These included StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (2010) and Diablo III (2012). Their big crossover game, Heroes of the Storm, came out in 2015. This game featured characters from all of Blizzard's different game worlds. In the late 2010s, Blizzard released StarCraft: Remastered (2017) and Warcraft III: Reforged (2020), which were updated versions of older games.

Overwatch was very successful when it was released in May 2016. It was the best-selling PC game of 2016. Blizzard also created a professional esports league for the game called the Overwatch League. They even bought a special arena in California, the Blizzard Arena, for these events. The Overwatch League started in January 2018.

In 2012, Blizzard Entertainment had 4,700 employees. By June 2015, their main office in Irvine, California, had 2,622 employees.

Changes in Leadership (2018–2022)

On October 3, 2018, Mike Morhaime, a co-founder and the company president, announced he would step down. He officially left in April 2019. J. Allen Brack, who was the executive producer for World of Warcraft, took his place.

Frank Pearce, another co-founder, also stepped down in July 2019. Michael Chu, a main writer for many Blizzard games, left the company in March 2020 after 20 years.

In January 2021, another game studio called Vicarious Visions joined Blizzard Entertainment. Vicarious Visions had been helping Blizzard work on Diablo II: Resurrected, an updated version of Diablo II. It made sense for them to join Blizzard to keep supporting this game and other Diablo games. Vicarious Visions fully became part of Blizzard by April 2022.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Blizzard Entertainment released a collection of classic games in February 2021. This Blizzard Arcade Collection included The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing, and Blackthorne. These games had new features like better graphics and the ability to save progress.

In July 2021, there were reports about problems with the work environment at Blizzard. As a result, J. Allen Brack left the company. Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra became the new co-leaders of Blizzard. Jen Oneal later left, leaving Mike Ybarra as the sole leader.

Because of these issues and some game delays, Microsoft announced in January 2022 that it planned to buy Activision Blizzard, including Blizzard Entertainment, for $68.7 billion. This was the biggest purchase in tech history. The deal was completed on October 13, 2023. Activision Blizzard then became part of the Microsoft Gaming division.

Blizzard also bought Proletariat, a studio that made the game Spellbreak, in June 2022. Proletariat's team of 100 employees joined Blizzard to help work on World of Warcraft.

Challenges and Microsoft Acquisition (2023–Present)

Before their agreement ended in January 2023, Blizzard and NetEase (their partner in China) announced in November 2022 that they couldn't agree on new terms. This meant most Blizzard games stopped working in China in January 2023. Blizzard said they were looking for new partners in China. By April 2024, Blizzard, with Microsoft's help, and NetEase agreed to new terms. Blizzard's games are planned to return to China by mid-2024.

After Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard, Microsoft announced it was letting go of 1,900 staff from its gaming division in January 2024. Blizzard President Mike Ybarra and Chief Design Officer Allen Adham also announced they were leaving the company. A planned survival game from Blizzard was also canceled. On January 29, 2024, Johanna Faries became Blizzard Entertainment's new president.

Blizzard's Games

Blizzard Entertainment has made 19 games since it started in 1991.

Main Game Series

Most of Blizzard's games are part of the Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft series. Since the release of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994), Diablo (1997), and StarCraft (1998), these three have been their main focus. Overwatch (2016) later became a fourth main series.

Each game series also has other things like novels, card games, comics, and short videos. In 2006, Blizzard announced a Warcraft live-action movie. The movie was released in June 2016. On October 4, 2022, Overwatch servers were turned off as Overwatch 2 launched.

Spin-off Games

Blizzard has released two spin-off games from their main series. These are Hearthstone (2014), which is set in the Warcraft world, and Heroes of the Storm (2015). Heroes of the Storm features characters from all four of Blizzard's main game series.

Remastered Games

In 2015, Blizzard Entertainment created a "Classic Games division". This team focuses on updating older games. They have updated StarCraft: Remastered (2017), Warcraft III: Reforged (2020), and Diablo II: Resurrected (2021).

Re-released Games

In February 2021, Blizzard Entertainment released the Blizzard Arcade Collection. This collection is for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. It includes five classic Blizzard games: The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing, Blackthorne, The Lost Vikings 2, and RPM Racing.

These re-released games have modern features. They can be played in 16:9 resolution, have 4-player split-screen, and let you rewind or save your game. You can also watch replays and add graphic filters. The collection also has a digital museum with game art and interviews.

Games That Were Not Released

Some games Blizzard worked on were never released. These include Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans (canceled in 1998) and StarCraft: Ghost (put on hold indefinitely in 2006). After seven years of work, Blizzard also canceled a big online game called Titan in 2014.

Blizzard often takes a long time to finish games. They like to say a game is "done when it's done."

A game called Pax Imperia II was supposed to be published by Blizzard. But Blizzard decided not to publish it because it might have competed with their own space strategy game, which became StarCraft.

In January 2022, Blizzard announced a new survival game. This game, called Odyssey, had been in development for almost six years. However, its development was canceled in January 2024 when Microsoft laid off many staff members.

Game Ports

When the company was called Silicon & Synapse, they focused on changing other studios' games to work on different computers. They made 8 such game ports between 1992 and 1993.

How Blizzard is Organized

Blizzard Entertainment has different teams that work on their game series. These teams are given numbers.

• Team 1 works on the StarCraft games. This team also worked on Heroes of the Storm. Team 1 also had a "Classics Team" that updated older Blizzard games like StarCraft: Remastered and Warcraft III: Reforged. This Classics Team was later disbanded.
• Team 2 continues to work on World of Warcraft.
• Team 3 works on the Diablo games.

Since 2004, two new teams were created:

• Team 4 was created around 2007 to work on a new game series called Titan. When Titan had problems, most of Team 4 moved to other teams. But the remaining members created Overwatch, which is now handled by Team 4.
• Team 5 was created in 2008 to make smaller games. This team created Hearthstone, a card game based on Warcraft.

Technology Blizzard Uses

Battle.net 2.0

Blizzard Entertainment released an updated version of its online service, Battle.net, in 2009. This platform lets people play games online, download games, and connect with friends. If you buy a Blizzard game, Battle.net lets you download a digital copy without needing a physical game disc.

Since November 2009, all World of Warcraft accounts need to use Battle.net accounts. This means you can use one Battle.net login to play and download all your Blizzard games.

Battle.net 2.0 helps players find games to play with others. It also lets players see their friends' achievements and game history. Players can earn many achievements in Blizzard games.

The service has social features like friend lists and groups. Players can chat with friends who are playing different Blizzard games using voice chat and instant messages. You don't need to make many different accounts for most Blizzard games. To chat with friends across different games, you just need to add them as Battletag or Real ID friends.

Warden Client

Blizzard Entertainment uses a special software called the 'Warden Client'. This software is used with Blizzard's online games like Diablo and World of Warcraft. When you agree to the game's rules, you allow Warden to check your computer's memory while the game is running.

The Warden client checks parts of your computer's running programs. It does this to find out if players are using any unauthorized programs. The goal is to stop players from using cheats or other unfair programs in the game. Warden checks for these programs by comparing them to a list of known cheat programs.

There was a time when Warden accidentally banned many Linux users because it thought a program they were using was a cheat. Blizzard later fixed this and gave those players free game time. Some people have worried that Warden scans too much of a computer and might find private information. Because of this, some people have called Warden spyware.

Other Companies Started by Former Blizzard Employees

Over the years, some people who used to work at Blizzard Entertainment have left to start their own game companies. Many of these companies were formed after Activision and Vivendi Games merged in 2008. More recently, some employees left because they wanted more creative freedom. These new studios are sometimes called "Blizzard 2.0".

• ArenaNet, which made the Guild Wars games.
• Bonfire Studios, started by Rob Pardo.
• Dreamhaven, started by Michael Morhaime.
• Fantastic Pixel Castle, working on a new online role-playing game.
• Flagship Studios, which made Hellgate: London.
• Frost Giant Studios, making a real-time strategy game called Stormgate.
• Magic Soup Games, started by J. Allen Brack and Jen Oneal.
• Ready at Dawn Studios, which made games like The Order: 1886.
• Runic Games, which made Torchlight.
• Second Dinner, started by Ben Brode, which made Marvel Snap.
• Uncapped Games, started by David Kim and Jason Hughes.

See also

In Spanish: Blizzard Entertainment para niños