Inside Story of Blizzard Departures. A Company at a Crossroads

A long-form article has been posted this evening which takes a look at the more recent departures from Blizzard and the current culture within the company.

IGN had talked to numerous sources who previously worked at Blizzard to put this article together and it's an interesting read, even if you have been following Blizzard staff departures over the past five years. There's not really anything revelationary
revealed but it does offer a good timeline of events.

We know that with new games some way off (apart from D2R), Blizzard is going to have to stick it out until Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 get released. Not releasing games doesn't bring in money which affects things such as staff bonuses. It's a strange time for Blizzard and it will take a little longer for them to reach their full potential again. Some big names are no longer there and it's time to rebuild.

 

[niebieski]

Unfortunately it was to be expected.

I guess everyone who has worked in corporate environment has seen the same thing - at certain time looking at bottom line begins, cost-cutting measures are implemented, people who had no idea what made the product successful start to make more and more important decisions, old guard slowly retires or moves away (I do software engineering, but not in gaming industry). This is further amplified by the fact that there's futher integration with Activision stack.

I think it would be good to have Diablo 4 & Overwatch 2 a success, their success would also prove (to higher-up mgmt) Blizz's aptitude to create a highly successful product. However I'm afraid of the need to provide "games as a service" model, which is great for providers (constant revenue flow) but might not be so great for players.
This might be a little OT, but I'm wary because after finishing Starcraft 2 WoL my reaction was "why is everything about esports and not about having generic fun, with these training missions on top level menus?", so if they want to shape the game too much (compare D3 & RMAH) instead of letting it grow organically.

When it comes to new studios, I wish them luck and hope their products will be as good as original Blizzard ones. The only one thing worries me, that unfortunately game production costs more and more, and I'm afraid that companies with less accesss to resources (money, but not only, skilled workforce too) will have harder time to release products with the same level of polish, the polish we know and love from (older?) Blizzard games. This might be sideways related to growth of indie games, but I don't want to get off-topic here.

 

[Glurin]

When it comes to new studios, I wish them luck and hope their products will be as good as original Blizzard ones. The only one thing worries me, that unfortunately game production costs more and more, and I'm afraid that companies with less accesss to resources (money, but not only, skilled workforce too) will have harder time to release products with the same level of polish, the polish we know and love from (older?) Blizzard games. This might be sideways related to growth of indie games, but I don't want to get off-topic here.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of assuming that only the familiar formula associated with AAA games can succeed. Lots of money, lots of developers, state of the art graphics, established IPs, etc. It's the very same trap that has led many of the most beloved developers astray, including Blizzard. But the thing that really determines success is whether or not the game is fun to play.