The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

On this week’s episode of Decoder, I’m talking to Jason Schreier, a Bloomberg journalist and author of the new book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment.

If you don’t know Blizzard, you know its games — the studio behind Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch is more than 30 years old, and it’s achieved legendary status. At the same time, Blizzard has become emblematic of many of the industry’s biggest failings, from the shareholder pressures to prioritize monetization over creativity to the deep sexism that still pervades so much of gaming today. 

Jason’s book is out on October 8th, and it’s an incredible, detailed accounting of how Blizzard started, grew into one of the most beloved (and most controversial) companies in the world of video games, and eventually became a victim of its own mismanagement. Oh, and there are a series of chaotic, culture-clashing acquisitions along the way, culminating with Microsoft closing its deal to buy the combined company known as Activision Blizzard last year in the most expensive acquisition in gaming history.

As you’ll hear Jason tell it, the story of Blizzard really revolves around two central themes. One is the inherent tension that exists between art and commerce and how Blizzard’s journey from a small startup in California to a subsidiary of Microsoft with thousands of employees has been about as close to M&A hell as you can imagine.

In particular, Jason goes into detail about how merging with Activision, the company behind Call of Duty, set Blizzard on a collision course that would rob it of much of the creative agency that allowed it to flourish back in the ’90s. 

The other big theme is how industries in intense insular fandoms, like gaming, often have deeply problematic workplace cultures that take root from the very beginning and refuse to let go. That makes these companies almost impossible to change without industry-shaking upheaval.

The state of California filed a massive sexism and discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in 2021, a moment that would change the course of the company and precipitate its sale to Microsoft’s Xbox division the following year. (Activision Blizzard and California settled the suit in 2023, shortly after the Microsoft deal closed.)

There’s a lot going on here. And as you’ll hear Jason say, the story of Blizzard is a quintessential tale about the perils of capitalism — about what growth and scale will do to a business, especially those in the business of making art, and the compromises that have to be made along the way to keep all that money flowing.

It’s also a cautionary tale, about a fundamentally creative industry that has, at many times in its history, utterly failed to make room for more diverse voices, creating a ticking time bomb that creates at the heart of even the most beloved institutions.

If you want to read more about the history of Blizzard, including excerpts from Jason’s book and deeper reporting on the Microsoft-Activision saga, check out these links below:

• Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment | Hachette 
• How Blizzard’s canceled MMO Titan fell apart | Polygon
• Blizzard was built on crunch, co-founder says, but it’s ‘not sustainable’ | Polygon
• Inside Activision and Blizzard’s corporate warcraft | Bloomberg
• Blizzard cofounder’s new company Dreamhaven aims to recreate old magic | Bloomberg
• Activision Blizzard’s rot goes all the way to the CEO, alleges report | The Verge
• Activision Blizzard’s workplace problems spurred $75 billion Microsoft deal | WSJ
• California settles Activision Blizzard gender discrimination lawsuit | The Verge
• Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition | The Verge
• Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees | The Verge