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===Notable=== |
===Notable=== |
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*{{RaceIcon|Human|Male}} [[Allen Adham]] (vice president and co-founder) |
*{{RaceIcon|Human|Male}} [[Allen Adham]] (vice president and co-founder) |
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| − | *{{RaceIcon|Human|Male}} ''Greg Canessa'' ([[Battle.net 2.0]] project coordinator)<ref name = "BnetPreview">{{ref web|author=Blizzard Entertainment staff, Greg Canessa|date=2010-02- |
+ | *{{RaceIcon|Human|Male}} ''Greg Canessa'' ([[Battle.net 2.0]] project coordinator)<ref name = "BnetPreview">{{ref web|author=Blizzard Entertainment staff, Greg Canessa|date=2010-02-09|url=http://www.starcraft2.com/features/misc/battlenet.xml|title=Battle.net Preview|publisher=Blizzard Entertainment|accessdate=2010-02-09}}</ref> |
*{{RaceIcon|Human|Male}} [[Tom Chilton]] |
*{{RaceIcon|Human|Male}} [[Tom Chilton]] |
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*[[File:BTNTemp.png|18px]] [[Samwise Didier]] (art director) |
*[[File:BTNTemp.png|18px]] [[Samwise Didier]] (art director) |
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Revision as of 11:26, 13 November 2013
 Blizzard Entertainment | |
|---|---|
 Computer and video game publisher | |
| Main leader |
Michael Morhaime (president and co-founder) Frank Pearce (vice president and co-founder) |
| Secondary leaders |
Rob Pardo (vice president) Chris Metzen (vice president of Creative Development) Shahram Dabiri (producer on World of Warcraft) Jeffrey Kaplan (lead designer on World of Warcraft) |
| Race(s) | Humans |
| Capital | Irvine, California, USA |
| Theater of operations | Quality RTS and RPG video games |
| Language(s) | Common/English |
| Affiliation | Vivendi Universal, Activision Blizzard |
| Status | Active |
A statue of an orc riding a wolf, located outside Blizzard's office.
Blizzard Entertainment® (often shortened to "Blizzard" or "Blizz" by players) is the company responsible for the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises. Besides the general list of products below, this article contains links to websites dedicated to Blizzard's specific products and the company in general.
On December 2, 2007, Vivendi (Blizzard Entertainment's parent company) announced that their subsidiary Vivendi Games (of which Blizzard Entertainment was a part) would be merging with Activision to form Activision Blizzard.[1] This merger would not affect Blizzard Entertainment's operations. The deal was finalized on July 8, 2008.[2]
Core Values
Blizzard Entertainment lists its eight core values on their mission statement page:
- Gameplay first
- Commit to quality
- Play nice; play fair
- Embrace your inner geek
- Every voice matters
- Think globally
- Lead responsibly
- Learn and grow[3]
History
Blizzard turned 20 years old in 2012. Its history is recorded on a timeline on its own site here.[4]
Relationship with Activision Blizzard
Vivendi Games, the former publisher for Blizzard Entertainment, is the majority shareholder of Activision Blizzard.[5] Almost no change is expected at Blizzard Entertainment, and it and Activision will continue to exist as separate entitites.[6] Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. will remain as Blizzard's brand.[7]
Conferences
Blizzard Entertainment has conferences for Blizzard announcements and demonstrations, known as the Blizzard Entertainment World Wide Invitational and BlizzCon. The first WWI was held in Seoul, South Korea on May 19 and 20, 2007 when Blizzard officially announced StarCraft II. Paris, France hosted the second Invitational on June 28 and 29, 2008.[8]
Published games
General games
- RPM Racing (Released: 1991)
- J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (Amiga port) (Released: 1992)
- Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess (Amiga port) (Released: 1992)
- Castles (Amiga port) (Released: 1992)
- Battle Chess (Windows port) (Released: 1992)
- MicroLeague Baseball (Amiga port) (Released: 1992)
- Lexi-Cross (Macintosh port) (Released: 1992)
- Dvorak on Typing (Macintosh port) (Released: 1992)
- The Lost Vikings (Released: 1992)
- Rock N' Roll Racing (Released: 1993)
- Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye (Released: 1993)
- Blackthorne (Released: 1994)
- The Death and Return of Superman (Released: 1994)
- The Lost Vikings II (SNES version) (Released: 1994)
- Justice League Task Force (Released: 1995)
- The Lost Vikings II: Norse by Norsewest (Saturn, PSX, PC versions) (Released: 1995)
Warcraft Universe
- Main article: Warcraft Universe
- Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (Released: 1994)
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (Released: 1995)
- Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal 1996)
- Warcraft II: The Dark Saga (Released: 1997)
- Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition (Released: 1999)
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (Released: 2002)
- Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (Released: 2003)
- World of Warcraft (Released: 2004)
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Released: 2007)
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Released: 2008)
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Released: 2010)
- World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (Released: 2012)
- World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor (To Be Announced)
- Related pen-and-paper RPG materials
- Warcraft: The Board Game
StarCraft Universe
- For its connections with Warcraft, see StarCraft franchise
- StarCraft (Released: 1998)
- StarCraft: Brood War (Released: 1998)
- StarCraft 64 (Released: 2000)
- Related novels by PocketBooks
- StarCraft II
- StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Released: 2010)
- StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Released: 2013)
Diablo Universe
- For its connections with Warcraft, see Diablo franchise
- Diablo (Released: 1996)
- Diablo (PSX version) (Released: 1998)
- Diablo II (Released: 2000)
- Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (Released: 2001)
- Related novels by PocketBooks
- Diablo III (Released: 2012)
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (Planned release year: 2014)[9]
In Development
- Diablo III (Playstation 3/4, Xbox 360/One versions, 2013)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Released: 2013 (Closed Beta))
- Titan (Planned release: 2016) is the project name for a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that is being developed.[10]
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (2014)[9]
- Heroes of the Storm (TBA)
- StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (TBA)
- Warcraft IV would be another epic whose plot remains unknown. (TBA, not officially confirmed)[13][14]
- World of Warcraft expansion(s) (TBA)[15]
Rumored games
Note: Blizzard has confirmed that they are NOT working on a StarCraft or Diablo MMORPG.[16]
- World of Warcraft players are expecting the 6th expansion to be something with legions, Outland update, or a new world like Outland. The expansion is rumored to be called, Rise of the Legions or The Dark Below.[17]
Unreleased games
- Bloodlines (concepts later used for StarCraft)
- Crixia[18]
- Denizen[18]
- Diablo II: Salvation (trademark patented in 2001)
- Diablo Junior (intended for the Gameboy Color, scrapped due to production costs)[19]
- Games People Play (crossword puzzles, boggle, and other word games)[20]
- Nomad (Canceled in favor of World of Warcraft)[20]
- Pax Imperia II (rights sold to THQ, later released as Pax Emperia: Eminent Domain)[21]
- Raiko[18]
- Ronin[22]
- Shattered Nations (canceled in favor of StarCraft)[18]
- Starblo (ARPG in a sci-fi setting)[23]
- Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans (Canceled on May 22, 1998)
- StarCraft: Ghost (indefinately postponed on March 24, 2006)[24]
Employees
Notable
Allen Adham (vice president and co-founder)- Greg Canessa (Battle.net 2.0 project coordinator)[25]
- Tom Chilton
- Samwise Didier (art director)
- Drawgoon
- Mark Gibbons
- Chris Metzen (vice president of creative development)
- Michael Morhaime (president and co-founder)
- Frank Pearce (vice president and co-founder)
- J. Allen Brack
- Ion Hazzikostas
- Raneman
- Thammer
- Twincruiser (René Koiter and Michel Koiter)
- Dustin Browder (lead designer of StarCraft II)
- Brian Sousa (senior 3D artist for StarCraft II)
- Andy Chambers (creative director)
- Robert "the Voice" Simpson (esports coordinator)[26]
- David Kim (balance designer)
- Brian T. Kindregan (lead writer)
- Rob Pardo (vice president of game design)
- Matt Samia (senior director of cinematics)
- Kevin Yu, aka Karune (battle.net representative)
Organizations
Previous employees
References
- ^ http://www.activisionblizzard.com/pressReleases/pr120207.php
- ^ Rob Purchese 2008-06-30. Eurogamer: Blizzard Worldwide Invertational. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Mission Statement. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2009-11-16.
- ^ Blizzard Timeline. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2012-07-05.
- ^ Brendan Sinclair 2007-12-03. Activision, Vivendi merger reaps positive reactions. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2008-11-28.
- ^ Activision Blizzard FAQ.
- ^ Ordinn 2007-12-02. 0. Activision Blizzard FAQ. WoW General Discussion Forum. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ Worldwide Invitation 2008.
- ^ a b Reaper of Souls. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2013-08-15.
- ^ Blizzard delays unannounced MMO until 2016, resets whole project (exclusive). GamesBeat (2013-05-28). Retrieved on 2013-11-13.
- ^ http://www.empireonline.com/interviews_and_events/interview.asp?IID=620
- ^ Error on call to Template:ref web: Parameters url and title must be specified. Gamesbeat (2013-05-28). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ Warcraft IV Confirmed, Starcraft II to be split into a Trilogy. NG4 (2008-04-19). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ Warcraft IV somewhat confirmed at BlizzCon. SK Gaming (2011-10-11). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ World of Warcraft expansion 5 confirmed: Blizzard 'geeked out' over concept. CVG (2012-03-02). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ Blizzard freezes non-WOW MMOG rumors. GameSpot (2006-06-14). Retrieved on 2013-11-13.
- ^ Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The Dark Below. WoW Joystiq (2013-08-18). Retrieved on 2013-11-13.
- ^ a b c d D.I.C.E. '08: Blizzard talks about blowing up. GameSpot (2008-02-07). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ Blizzard North considered making Diablo Junior for the Game Boy Color. Joystiq (2012-10-12). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ a b Blizzard Entertainment Inc.. Moby Games. Retrieved on 2013-05-28.
- ^ Pax Imperia II. JudgeHype. Retrieved on 2013-05-28.
- ^ The Art of Blizzard Entertainment (book) review…. Inside the Box (2013-02-04). Retrieved on 2013-05-28.
- ^ Diablo in space? Blizzard actually worked on "Starblo". Neowin.net (2012-10-23). Retrieved on 2013-05-29.
- ^ 'StarCraft: Ghost' (PS2/Xbox) Cancelled But Goes Next-Gen. Worthplaying (2006-03-24). Retrieved on 2013-11-13.
- ^ Blizzard Entertainment staff, Greg Canessa 2010-02-09. Battle.net Preview. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2010-02-09.
- ^ Blizzcon Video Archive (Sonkie vs Yellow). Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2008-10-19.
External links
da:Blizzard Entertainment fa:بلیزارد ja:Blizzard Entertainment ru:Blizzard Entertainment fi:Blizzard
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