World of Warcraft’s current issues might be solved with a new owner, as the game would no longer need to compete against other platforms like Fortnite. It will keep players and subscriptions while adapting its messaging for an audience that is now more competitively minded.
The “Blizzard Back Better: New Owners Would Solve World of Warcraft’s Problems” is a blog post that discusses the problems with Blizzard and how the company could be better. The article also includes a list of potential new owners for the company.
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Veteran Internet users recall the uproar that erupted when Activision purchased Blizzard and the gaming community erupted in rage. Of course, this wasn’t Blizzard’s first sale… To name a few, the gaming firm has previously been bought by Vivendi, Sierra-Online (through CUC), and Davidson & Associates. Blizzard had a lengthy relationship with Vivendi, and the years from 1998 through 2008 were regarded as their golden years.
So, with all of the troubles that the 2020s have given Blizzard, what is the answer to their problems? Return to their golden days, when World of Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and StarCraft 2 were all published, and so forth.
It’s Not a “Blizzard” Game, Unlike Diablo.
Let’s get one thing straight: Diablo is a Condor Games game, not a Blizzard game. Blizzard purchased another studio and called it Blizzard North, which operated independently of Blizzard. Lord of Destruction for D2 was the final item they created in 2001. Vivendi then amalgamated them with “Blizzard South” or the original Blizzard. The personnel from the company has generally gone on to work on other projects, such as Torchlight and Path of Exile.
The Blizzard We Loved Was Killed by WoW’s Success
From my personal experience and chats with the personnel at past BlizzCons in 2006 and 2007, Vivendi was pretty hands off. The idea was that they would sell the games they created and make a profit, which they did, which was fantastic. Because World of Warcraft was such a massive success, Activision bought Blizzard in 2008 and renamed company Activision Blizzard as a demonstration of good faith. There were assurances that this wouldn’t be a huge problem and that Blizzard would retain control.
That was a fabrication.
We’ve seen that independence ebb away year after year in the 14 years since that transaction. The corporation has been dogged by scandals, claims of sexual misconduct, and recent lawsuits based solely on employee behavior. Furthermore, Activision’s management has pushed specialized titles to appeal to a wider audience, upsetting players who are now witnessing rival powerhouses like Epic Games (Fortnite) and Square-Enix (FFXIV) surge in popularity.
The only solution is freedom.
Employees would retake control of the enthusiasm behind the ideas the firm is working on if the company were to break away from Activision and establish autonomous ownership. It would allow game developers to reclaim control over their vision, allowing them to concentrate less on maximising money from fans and more on doing what they do best: making fantastic games.
Naturally, this isn’t as simple as it once was. The commitment that Activision Blizzard made as a corporation ultimately created an inescapable tie between the two firms. While the development labs are distinct, the firm as a whole is one.
As a result, the studios and assets they produce may need to find new owners, while Blizzard and the ips it used to manage may need to find new stewards.
Ironically, I believe that selling certain IPs is the greatest option for them.
Tencent, Steam, Microsoft, EPIC, and a slew of more companies
World of Warcraft is a massive product, and it’s still a big thing, despite the controversy. It’s still a powerhouse, and it’s still an appealing target for someone to come in and take the IP and grow it in a different way. Buying WoW would be a significant move, and one that Activision could consider now that they’ve been tarnished by bawdy BlizzCons.
Here’s some fun theorycrafting, based only on my own opinion:
Tencent: Would most likely invest a substantial sum of money in the game and make it a huge success.
NetEase: Development in North America would most likely follow the Chinese build of the game, and development would most likely be moved to China anyhow. NetEase is really nice, because they now own Grasshopper Manufacture, or Suda51’s studio.
Perfect World: I’d maintain the same studio in the US and leave them alone, but I’d heavily commercialize the game.
Sony, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts: Congratulations on finally having a functional MMO (EA gets to have another win). I couldn’t tell you what would happen because of their current development strength and capacity to transfer money around.
Epic, Steam: Epic’s retail app already contains Fortnite as a primary pillar. Valve (Steam) has enough assets that it does not need to purchase an MMO. It may be an intriguing move as a “good faith” gesture for either party to purchase WoW and “rescue it.”
Ubisoft and Other Smaller Studios: Their wallets are probably too little. Ubisoft is losing money (despite having tons of cash), so bringing in a big money maker for them to fatten up their revenue could be an interesting (again, super novice opinion here) play, but I just don’t see it happening. If they’re going to sell Blizzard IPs off, people are going to bid, and the big dogs are going to bid to win unless it’s some kind of face-saving gesture with say Valve to take stewardship of the game or
Last Thoughts
I guess I simply told you what I was thinking, but this is just theorycrafting. I believe we all want a better World of Warcraft, so please share your ideas for how we might improve it in the comments section below.
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The “build back better bill summary” is a proposal that would give Blizzard the opportunity to rebuild World of Warcraft in an attempt to make it more profitable. The new owners would be able to fix many problems with the game, such as fixing bugs and introducing new content.
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