Working At Blizzard

new works differently now..

a reply to: ketsuko

Blizzard just doesnt listen to their customers anymore. And their massive push for esports made them lose touch with reality and their base, that gamers want decent content and will wait for it. Just look how long diablo fans waited to only be shafted in the end.

It's sad to see a company like blizzard turn a blind eye to make their games quick cash grabs that resemble slot machines for rewards.

Maybe you can help me as an artist with all your experience

a reply to: opethPA
You'll get no hate from me! I've been playing WoW for just over 10 years now and will continue to do so until the servers go dark. Yes the game has changed, but I love it just as much as when I started back in BC. I'm really excited for the Classic servers as well.

Sounds like an amazing place to work.

originally posted by: strongfp
a reply to: ketsuko

Blizzard just doesnt listen to their customers anymore.

Blizzard North didn't have to.

They just made great games.

Actilizzard couldn't keep up with the standards that Blizzard North set by simply making great games for the sake of making great games. Now they only care about pushing out content as slowly with an $80+ pricetag on it each time.

Passion for quality games died when facebook moms started paying $500/mo for their e-currencies.

a reply to: ketsuko

Precisely; EA for the number one example.
They fricken decimated DICE and tarnished everyone’s opinion of them.
I wish we had an EA employee on ATS.
I’d love to hear some stories.

a reply to: DeadFoot

Yup micro transactions are they lifeblood of video games these days.
But in the end, we did it to ourselves.
Always wanting bigger, better longer games.
Now a video game has to make as much as blockbuster movies do for them to see a decent profit.
It’s Sad but that’s the way it is now.

I was happy when some countries banned them over EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 battlebox fiasco.

a reply to: opethPA

Not sure if you would know this or not, but I have a question,

How has Real Money Trading impacted your MMO’s?
I remember playing final fantasy online and being bombarded with messages from gold sellers.
Heck even promises of epic weapons. Saying if I give them access to my account and $200 they could get me Ragnarok.
...always wish I did.

a reply to: opethPA

I dont understand. You said threads have been made, people are angry... But since you didnt explain why in the beginning and yet welcome people to "troll away" I'm guessing that reading the rest of your OP will give little in the way of context clues and that this thread is meant to be an "insider" thread, meant for people who are already on the same page as you are and automatically know what it means when someone says "people have been upset with Blizzard".


Since I have no idea what you're talking about I'll just read the rest of your thread and see if I can guess at what a relevant response would look like...



Ok, it looks like I was correct in my assumption. All I was able to glean from that was some generalized comments about work conditions. But I'm not just gonna assume that my gleaning skills are up to par, so, let me just take a look through my memory banks to see if anything video game related comes up in recent (to me) news...


I saw this YouTube video yesterday or the day before that is related to "people upset about video game stuff"... Maybe this is what you were talking about. Let me find it...

For some reason the YT VIDEO code in the address bar was only giving me a code to start the video in the middle of it where I was watching and I was never able to figure out how to get just a normal code but this should start it just about 10 or 15 seconds ahead of the part I want to ask you about. At least that's what it did for me when I tested it in "preview mode".

The relevant portion begins at about 20mins 10sec. Before that it's just basically a guy talking about all seeing eyes in games (I think overwatch) and technology that tracks user activity...

But at about 20:10, a radio style interview with a Hollywood Sound guy who's worked on games too, and it lists a whole bunch of awesome well known games he has supposedly worked on...

His name is Clint Richardson "sound designer" for Hollywood.

His claim is that, anytime in a movie OR a video game, when you hear a dragon, monster, demon, or whatever creature making roars and monster sounds, the way that sound was "created" was he would go out to a zoo or some place with animals, and they would have the animals tortured. Electrocuted, or neutered with no pain killers, and these animals, (pigs are said to be good) produce those "Awesome!" sounds and he eventually had to quit because it was making him sick. And when he asked others, they admitted they'd sold out in exchange for the nice paying job...





So, first of all, is THIS what people are upset with Blizzard about, because theytorture animals according to Clint Richardson (to be fair I dont recall for sure if he mentioned the name Blizzard but seemed to insinuate that it was industry norm), in order to get their "awesome" sounds?

2nd, is it true?

a reply to: 3n19m470

Cool story but has nothing to do with why I posted.

Believe me having worked Blizzcon and sitting in the crowd during the Immortal announcement I know the various reasons people are currently angry with us.

A few people asked me what it's like to work there so I posted my experiences on a day to day basis. That's it. I am not nor was I looking for people to agree or disagree with anything I said as neither has any impact on me.

I have to guess if you are reading this thread then you know who Blizzard are and you are either a fan or angry with us right now so I'm not sure why you would need me to explain either of those things.

It's a fun work evt and I posted about it.

a reply to: opethPA

Out of curiosity, do you guys feel stifled by Activision in the creativity department? I mean I know D4 is in development, as it was practically announced (alluded to) during Blizzcon, but I get the distinct impression that Activision is having a negative affect on Blizzard as a whole. Do you get that impression at all?

And are there any plans of going independent again at some future juncture?

TheBorg :-)

originally posted by: TheBorg
a reply to: opethPA

Out of curiosity, do you guys feel stifled by Activision in the creativity department? I mean I know D4 is in development, as it was practically announced (alluded to) during Blizzcon, but I get the distinct impression that Activision is having a negative affect on Blizzard as a whole. Do you get that impression at all?

And are there any plans of going independent again at some future juncture?

TheBorg :-)

Understanding that I do not officially speak for the company and any messages are my own perception as someone that straddles both the ATVI and Blizzard sides due to what my job is.

At a Team level, at a person level , at environment level and at a campus level I don't feel or see any creativity being stifled. That isn't to say that someone else at Blizzard might not say something different or feel it's more dire but rather my perception is that It's still a pretty amazingly creative, fun and rewarding place to work. The office setup and campus are still places that put creativity and our 8 core values ahead of everything else. Employees are passionate about what we do. I recently took part in one of many different internal programs where we get to tag along with Customer Service-GM's for a day and see how they respond to our players in one of our key games. Those people care and do the best they can within the confines of sometimes unrealistic expectations.

At the Executive level I am sure their are different experiences or different work flows but the people in the trenches ,doing the work that some of you may enjoy someday it's still operating as normal. That doesnt mean that it's all puppies and balloons. Long time Blizzard employees feel a difference and made those concerns known. One of the great things is we have many avenues by which we can send feedback up the leadership chain and actually try and drive change.

Not much of what I say is going ultimately matter here as Im guessing their are going to be people that think they know better from the outside vs people on some level of the inside. That is the nature of the modern world where everyone is connected and rumors on the Internet or "leaks from insiders" show up in YouTube videos and are taken as fact.

As for the ATVI side..I dont see their being a separation in the near future or maybe at all. While again it might be hard to see for those who dont work there moving towards the same direction , albeit in different ways, has benefits for both companies.

As for Blizzcon I dont think anyone working here is happy with how specific elements of it went. Still for the employees that put it on , it was a great time and lots of sweathard work went into getting to spend a few days with our community. I could sit here and say silly things about just wait for the next BC but Im not going to lead anyone on that way Ill just say that we are looking forward to a chance to change current opinions , misconceptions and or perceptions that the community has.


Not the juiciest answer or the most flashy and Im sorry for that but it was an honest answer from my point of view. =)

a reply to: opethPA

And a respectful answer it was. We know there are things you cannot discuss. I was more speaking very broadly about things that have been in the news. Take, for example, how 4 executive members of the old Blizzard crew have left in recent months. It seems, from the outside at least, that the company is taking a step in a direction away from the way things were just a few years ago.

I want to make it perfectly clear that the perceived anger and vitriol that was displayed towards the BC announcements was out of an honest sense of betrayal. I know you cannot really comment on it, and that's fine. We felt like our constructive inputs went unnoticed, and that we were being pushed aside in favor of a more robust financial model(micro transactions), and a new audience(mobile gamers in China). You can imagine how that would make us feel as fans, as I know you must be. We got the impression that we were no longer an important part of the community, and that kinda ticked us off.

As a long-time Blizzard fanboy, I felt that the announcement was more of a plea for those who aren't involved in games like Diablo to get involved. That's fine of course, bringing a new group in, but it did nothing for the millions of fans awaiting what they thought was an announcement for them. I have no issues with a mobile game, but we all wanted something more, even if it was just a simple screen flourish. I'm rambling, but you get the idea.

TheBorg :-)

originally posted by: TheBorg
a reply to: opethPA

And a respectful answer it was. We know there are things you cannot discuss. I was more speaking very broadly about things that have been in the news. Take, for example, how 4 executive members of the old Blizzard crew have left in recent months. It seems, from the outside at least, that the company is taking a step in a direction away from the way things were just a few years ago.

I want to make it perfectly clear that the perceived anger and vitriol that was displayed towards the BC announcements was out of an honest sense of betrayal. I know you cannot really comment on it, and that's fine. We felt like our constructive inputs went unnoticed, and that we were being pushed aside in favor of a more robust financial model(micro transactions), and a new audience(mobile gamers in China). You can imagine how that would make us feel as fans, as I know you must be. We got the impression that we were no longer an important part of the community, and that kinda ticked us off.

As a long-time Blizzard fanboy, I felt that the announcement was more of a plea for those who aren't involved in games like Diablo to get involved. That's fine of course, bringing a new group in, but it did nothing for the millions of fans awaiting what they thought was an announcement for them. I have no issues with a mobile game, but we all wanted something more, even if it was just a simple screen flourish. I'm rambling, but you get the idea.

TheBorg :-)

Within that past few weeks we had our annual wrapholiday party and during that different members of leadership mentioned how we could have done a better job on elements at Blizzcon for our community. After Blizzcon there was quite an uptick in employee feedback around the overall temp. I think we here all know we could have and should have done some things differently. In the end though words are just wind so it's tough to do anything but take the feedback we are getting and try to change that perception with possible coming future news. Own any mistakes and learn from them.

Speaking from a personal perspective only, having been a Blizzard fan for many years, it was still one of those "wtf how did I end up here" in a good way when I put on the Blizzcon support shirt and got to interact with the community for so many hours.

originally posted by: TheBorg
a reply to: opethPA

And a respectful answer it was. We know there are things you cannot discuss. I was more speaking very broadly about things that have been in the news. Take, for example, how 4 executive members of the old Blizzard crew have left in recent months. It seems, from the outside at least, that the company is taking a step in a direction away from the way things were just a few years ago.

I want to make it perfectly clear that the perceived anger and vitriol that was displayed towards the BC announcements was out of an honest sense of betrayal. I know you cannot really comment on it, and that's fine. We felt like our constructive inputs went unnoticed, and that we were being pushed aside in favor of a more robust financial model(micro transactions), and a new audience(mobile gamers in China). You can imagine how that would make us feel as fans, as I know you must be. We got the impression that we were no longer an important part of the community, and that kinda ticked us off.

As a long-time Blizzard fanboy, I felt that the announcement was more of a plea for those who aren't involved in games like Diablo to get involved. That's fine of course, bringing a new group in, but it did nothing for the millions of fans awaiting what they thought was an announcement for them. I have no issues with a mobile game, but we all wanted something more, even if it was just a simple screen flourish. I'm rambling, but you get the idea.

TheBorg :-)

Within that past few weeks we had our annual wrapholiday party and during that different members of leadership mentioned how we could have done a better job on elements at Blizzcon for our community. After Blizzcon there was quite an uptick in employee feedback around the overall temp. I think we here all know we could have and should have done some things differently. In the end though words are just wind so it's tough to do anything but take the feedback we are getting and try to change that perception with possible coming future news. Own any mistakes and learn from them.

Speaking from a personal perspective only, having been a Blizzard fan for many years, it was still one of those "wtf how did I end up here" in a good way when I put on the Blizzcon support shirt and got to interact with the community for so many hours.

Should be a rough week for ATVIBLIZ employees as we expect quite a few layoffs to come down.Not sure any of us are safe so that's fun..

I know for those consuming a product it's hard to remember that it's actually people behind that product putting their energy into it . MOre often then not those people have families, medical bills, life , whatever to live ..

a reply to: opethPA

Any word? I see that around 800 are being let go, so that they can optimize staffing for their main title's development departments.

TheBorg :-)

originally posted by: TheBorg
a reply to: opethPA

Any word? I see that around 800 are being let go, so that they can optimize staffing for their main title's development departments.

TheBorg :-)

Thanks for asking...

That is essentially how it played out.. Roughly 800 across all 4 divisions that make up AB.

My specific team was not impacted but that doesn't make it any better for those friends or co-workers that were.
I will say that , at least on the Blizzard side not knowing all the details on the ATVI side, those impacted were treated with as much dignity and respect as the scenario gave a chance to give and then some. Support for those who lost friends today was also great.

Additionally the gravity of the situation was addressed by different levels of management in really intimate ways which helps.

In general it wasnt a good day at AB so it's a chance for us to own what got us here and do it better. yah.

a reply to: opethPA

Yeah. I have been following it closely. I saw Brandy's post on Twitter earlier too. I'm glad she's okay there. Would hate to lose her as well.

TheBorg :-)