Acquired Episode 40: Activision Blizzard
01:18:53
Warcraft's Impact
- Warcraft popularized the RTS genre and introduced multiplayer gaming over LAN.
- Players used third-party software to enable online play, foreshadowing future online gaming trends.
The Rise of Modding
- Warcraft 2 introduced a map editor, empowering players to create and share custom maps.
- This fostered a modding community and foreshadowed the rise of user-generated content in gaming.
Battle.net's Innovation
- Blizzard's Battle.net platform provided a dedicated online service for multiplayer gaming.
- It also generated revenue through advertising and paved the way for similar services like Xbox Live.
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Introduction
00:00 • 2min
The History of Blizzard
01:41 • 5min
The Rise and Fall of Blizzard
06:23 • 3min
The Rise and Fall of Blizzard
08:55 • 2min
The History of PC Games
10:52 • 5min
The Infinite Economy of Diablo
15:59 • 3min
The Rise and Fall of Blizzard
18:40 • 3min
The Birth of Eastwards
21:20 • 2min
The History of Blizzard and the Vendi Group
23:44 • 3min
The History of Blizzard Games
26:16 • 2min
Defense of the Ancients
27:59 • 2min
The Differences Between League of Legends and Dota 2
29:36 • 3min
Blizzard's Merger With Activision
32:29 • 2min
The History and Facts of Activision
34:35 • 2min
Vivendi's Hearthstone
36:09 • 2min
Activision Blizzard Acquires Major League Gaming
38:19 • 3min
Overwatch Blizzard's Hybrid Business Model
40:53 • 2min
Overwatch's Success in Esports
43:18 • 2min
Blizzard's Growth in 2016
45:10 • 2min
Statsig: A New Way to Measure Product Impact
46:49 • 2min
Activision's Acquisition of Vivendi Games
48:58 • 3min
The Secret Sauce Within Blizzard
51:45 • 3min
Blizzard Activision's Overwatch League
54:25 • 1min
The Importance of Blizzard in the Video Games Industry
55:54 • 2min
The Power of Enabling Creativity
57:40 • 2min
Blizzard's IP Flywheel
59:54 • 2min
The Decline of Distributors in the Internet Era
01:01:38 • 3min
The Merger of Pseudo Equals
01:05:02 • 3min
Blizzard's Growth in the Gaming Industry
01:08:12 • 3min
How Twitter's Former CEO Talks About Trump's Midnight Tweets
01:10:45 • 3min
Modern Treasury: The Software Platform That Turns Money Movement Operations Into Code
01:13:52 • 2min
Ben & David cover the creation of the gaming world’s equivalent of the 70’s rock supergroup: the 2008 merger of Blizzard and Activision. We tell the story from the Blizzard perspective, tracing the history of one of the most innovative companies in the business from humble beginnings at the hands of UCLA undergrads, to surviving multiple acquisition rollups (including at one point being owned by the French national water company), to joining ultimately with Activision to form the largest gaming company in the world, all while inventing multiple game genres that define the industry as we know it today.
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Topics covered include:
- Blizzard’s founding in 1991 as "Silicon & Synapse” by recent UCLA grads Allen Adham, Frank Pearce, and Mike Morhaime
- The team’s first projects making ports for other games, including Battle Chess on the Commodore 64
- Early success on the Super Nintendo with Rock & Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings
- Origin of the Real-Time Strategy game genre (“RTS”) and Blizzard’s fist mega-hit, Warcraft
- Blizzard’s crazy corporate ownership changes over the years
- Development of further legendary game franchises like Diablo and Starcraft, along with sequels to Warcraft and the rise of the rise of player modding
- Emergence of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre (“MOBA”) from the Warcraft III modding community, and its growth into one of the biggest sectors in the games and esports industries today
- Blizzard’s role in developing the concept of online gaming, from early hacks to play against friends to World of Warcraft and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (“MMORPG’s”)
- The 2008 merger with storied gaming company Activision
- Growth and success since the merger, including the launch of new game franchises Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch
The Carve Out: