Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment has touched the lives of many- from Starcraft to Diablo to World of Warcraft, few fail to find a game (or a universe) that can draw them in. For many, Blizzard’s games have either been the starting point for their journey or have taken much of their time in gaming. For 25 years now, these amazing people have been making games, and, hopefully, they still will be in another 25. Blizzard has touched our lives in numerous ways, from bringing us together to birthing esports through its popular games Starcraft: Broodwar and Warcraft 3.
I personally remember playing Diablo 2 as one of my first games. The many hours that I spent exploring every corner of Tristram and its surroundings are fond memories. Many can tell of similar experiences in Azeroth and in the Broodwar custom games. Without a doubt, Blizzard has made truly memorable games and already achieved so much.
And more than that, the Blizzard community has grown amazingly. There is such an amazing following, and we have immeasurable jokes to match. From soon™ to jokes about the Protoss announcer complaining about not having enough pylons, Blizzard has managed to create many popular references with its games.
Perhaps its greatest achievement was birthing esports through Starcraft: Broodwar and Warcraft 3. In addition to spawning two separate scenes around those games, Warcraft 3 was also the birthing ground for the original Dota. Many years later, it was remade in spirit by League of Legends and in the flesh using the Source engine by Valve and has become the ancestor of the top esports today. Without Blizzard, there might never have been an esports scene.
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With how much they have already accomplished, what lies in Blizzard’s future? While sad, it is undeniably fact that World of Warcraft is slowly losing its userbase. Other MMOs exist where they did not before, allowing players to find the game to truly match their playstyle. While the hardcore userbase will not go anywhere, Blizzard will still lose subscribers after every expansion due to one month subscriptions to try the game out. Starcraft 2 will still remain for a while, especially with Blizzard’s recent efforts to cater to more casual players. However, the esports scene around it has recently been hit hard with cheating scandals, so it may be unable to recover. Diablo has a steady userbase and will continue to do so. It’s a staple RPG for many and they will keep coming back to it as new content is released. Hearthstone is going strong, especially with the recent announcement of a Standard format, increasing the game’s longevity. Heroes of the Storm, while a MOBA, has not received enough community support to grow to rival the titans of League of Legends and Dota 2. However, its community is small but stable, so they are not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Finally, the newest Blizzard project, Overwatch, is what everyone is excited about. From CS:GO pros to Blizzard fans, many gamers are eager to try out the new game. While it does not have a concrete basis, when it releases, it is sure to quickly construct one.
Finally, Blizzard released a video celebrating their anniversary. Find it below.
