Blizzard used to be my favorite gaming company. I remember when I was much younger dreaming of being able to work there on World of Warcraft. I played a ridiculous amount of WoW/Warcraft 3/Starcraft as a kid, and more recently a decent amount of WoW/Hearthstone/Overwatch.
I had been a WoW subscriber for over a decade. WoW's quality has been in decline (IMO) recently in BFA, and I stayed because I still occasionally enjoyed it, but it no longer has the same magic that I remember. WoW Classic brought back some of that nostalgia, but it was short lived for me.
BlizzCon last year made it pretty clear that Blizzard has shifted their focus [0]. There is no way they were delusional enough to expect a happy reaction to the Diablo Immortal announcement. It's very clearly targeted at the Chinese market.
Their actions in the past month (and year) are very telling - they are no longer the company I used to admire. I've canceled my WoW subscription as of last week, and I've deleted all of their games from my devices. I know that my actions alone/individually don't really have an impact on them, but I can't go on supporting them after the things they've been doing recently. Bellular has a pretty good video breaking down some of this situation as well [1].
It'll be interesting to see how BlizzCon goes this year.
As a veteran WoW player now playing classic, I hope this play works out. There was a ~40 min youtube video released a couple months ago that details the many ways contemporary Blizzard has lost their soul:
The short version is Blizzard is a shell of their former glory, and they are making decisions based on cash and appeasement of the Chinese govt. Most of you probably remember the Diablo: Immortal reception (Chinese mobile game presented as a keynote at the American, PC-playing blizzcon fan convention).
I deeply hope Morhaime is able to recapture the lightning in a bottle that existed at old Blizzard, and this doesn't end up as another Hellgate: London fiasco.
I was definitely the target demographic for WOW classic: nostalgic as heck.
Instead with the Hong Kong dust-up, I faced the facts.
The blizzard I grew up with and loved is dead. Even with Wow Classic released, the world has moved on.
Instead I initiated a full Battle Net account delete, which nuked all my Wow characters, Hearthstone decks, etc.
I'm pretty sure Blizzard is still headquartered in California. Some people have mistaken California for China, but I assure you it's a different place.
The one Blizzard game that I was fond of more than any other was Warcraft III. It holds a special place in my heart because I saved money for several months to be able to buy it for myself. It was a big deal to me. And wow, that game was everything I had hoped it would be when I finally got it.
A couple of years ago Blizzard thought they’d re-release the same game with updated graphics to cash in on the nostalgia. If it had been even half decent I would have bought it. But it was an unplayable mess. They couldn’t even release a playable version of a game that already existed. That’s when I knew Blizzard had died. I’m done with them.
I’m sure they’ll survive for a long time with their CoD and WoW, but I want nothing to do with them.
I boycotted Blizzard after their censorship regarding Hong Kong. It was a great decision since it saved me from the dumpster fire to end all dumpster fires that was Warcraft III Reforged [1]. I would strongly suggest that if anything about Blizzard pisses you off, just be done with them entirely. The people who created the great games of the past don't work there. Blizzard is no longer capable of producing good products, and has no purpose other than to suck every last penny out of the existing IP.
I have long been a big time contributor to the World of Warcraft scene. I've contributed to MaNGOS, I was a developer for a big server project - that I can't mention here :) -, a best friend of mine developed the most popular WoW addon of all time that I have contributed to, etc.
I really was torn about going back to play Classic WoW, but I chose not to, simply because I hate Activision/Blizzard. I refuse to support that company with a single dollar.
Their games being lifeless and greedy is bad enough, but as a company they are mean spirited, and will plant a boot in the face of anyone in their community just because they can.
I cut my teeth on Diablo, and played Diablo II for probably fifteen years after its release off and on as a way to stay connected with a friend who loved it similarly. More recently, I have consistently played Starcraft II since its release and enjoy a sense of mastery over that game unparalleled by my experience in any other.
I haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle[1] and quit playing Hearthstone at that time. However I had still played some of my other old favorites, reasoning that I was not providing them further financial support. The recent announcements about their terrible, sexist culture had challenged that notion for me, and I was not sure what to do.
This news is the straw that breaks my back. That Activision/Blizzard would double down on their despicable behavior and stance in this way is completely beyond the pale, and I for one will never again fire up those games that I loved so much.
Chinese wow enthusiasts can rejoice as they will get to play their favorite MMORPG for another 3 years, thanks to an accord reached between wow creators, Blizzard Entertainment and Netease.com. In an announcement today, both the companies decided to renew the license for mainland China for 3 years following the expiration of current license agreement.
That's very minor and IIRC occurred after they had already made a fortune in China.
There were political hurdles and that's why Blizzard partnered with The9, but the market was satisfied enough with the art assets to spend gobs on WoW.
I adored Blizzard's output for ~20 years - I have every collectors edition they released from Warcraft III to Overwatch - but I'm basically done. The scandals, the shitty monetization, and the half-baked products all point to a radically different culture and company than the one that released Starcraft in 1998. No king reigns forever.
reply