Editing Blizzard Entertainment (section)

=== Vivendi merger with Activision and continued growth (2008–2017) ===
Up through 2006, [[Bobby Kotick]], the CEO of [[Activision]], had been working to rebound the company from near-bankruptcy, and had established a number of new studios. However, Activision lacked anything in the MMO market. Kotick saw that ''World of Warcraft'' was bringing in over {{USD|1.1 billion}} a year in subscription fees, and began approaching Vivendi's CEO [[Jean-Bernard Lévy]] about potential acquisition of their struggling Vivendi Games division, which included Blizzard Entertainment. Lévy was open to a merger, but would only allow it if he controlled the majority of the combined company, knowing the value of ''World of Warcraft'' to Kotick.<ref name="forbes kotick"/> Among those Kotick spoke to for advice included Blizzard's Morhaime, who told Kotick that they had begun establishing lucrative in-roads into the [[Video gaming in China|Chinese market]]. Kotick accepted Lévy's deal, with the deal approved by shareholders in December 2007. By July 2008, the merger was complete, with Vivendi Games effectively dissolved except for Blizzard Entertainment, and the new company was named [[Activision Blizzard]].<ref name="forbes kotick">{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0202/052.html#788254c31a16 |title=Activision's Unlikely Hero |first=Peter |last=Beller |date=January 15, 2009 |access-date=February 12, 2019 |work=[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806105646/https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0202/052.html#788254c31a16 |archive-date=August 6, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Blizzard established a distribution agreement with the Chinese company [[NetEase]] in August 2008 to publish Blizzard's games in China. The deal focused on ''[[StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty|StarCraft II]]'' which was gaining popularity as an [[esport]] within southeast Asia, as well as for other Blizzard games with the exception of ''World of Warcraft'', still being handled by The9. The two companies established the Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology for managing the games within China.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/blizzard-cuts-deal-with-neteasecom-to-take-starcraft-2-to-china/ | title = Blizzard cuts deal with NetEase.com to take Starcraft II to China | first = Dean | last = Takahashi | date = August 12, 2008 | access-date = December 12, 2019 | work = [[Venture Beat]] | archive-date = December 12, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191212200319/https://venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/blizzard-cuts-deal-with-neteasecom-to-take-starcraft-2-to-china/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Blizzard and The9 prepared to launch the ''World of Warcraft'' expansion ''[[World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King|Wrath of the Lich King]]'', but the expansion came under scrutiny by China's content regulation board, the [[General Administration of Press and Publication]], which rejected publication of it within China in March 2009, even with preliminary modifications made by The9 to clear it. Rumors of Blizzard's dissatisfaction with The9 from this and other previous complications with ''World of Warcraft'' came to a head when, in April 2009, Blizzard announced it was terminating its contract with The9, and transferred operation of ''World of Warcraft'' in China to NetEase.<ref name="gamasutra wow timeline"/><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/114174/The9_Loses_China_World_Of_Warcraft_Deal_to_NetEase.php | title = The9 Loses China World Of Warcraft Deal to NetEase | first1 = Dave | last1 = Jenkins | first2 = Kris | last2 = Graft | date = April 16, 2009 | access-date = December 12, 2019 | work = [[Gamasutra]] | archive-date = December 12, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191212154210/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/114174/The9_Loses_China_World_Of_Warcraft_Deal_to_NetEase.php | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/wow-archivist-wow-in-china-an-uncensored-history/ | title = WoW Archivist: WoW in China, an uncensored history | first = Scott | last = Andrews | date = January 17, 2014 | access-date = December 12, 2019 | work = [[Engadget]] | archive-date = November 5, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191105070436/https://www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/wow-archivist-wow-in-china-an-uncensored-history/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

They released an improved version of [[Battle.net]] (Battle.net 2.0) in March 2009 which included improved matchmaking, storefront features, and better support for all of Blizzard's existing titles particularly ''World of Warcraft''.<ref name="New B.net">{{cite web|date=August 21, 2009|title=Upcoming Blizzard Battle.Net Feature Draw From Warcraft, Xbox Live, Life – Blizzcon 09|url=https://kotaku.com/upcoming-blizzard-battle-net-feature-draw-from-warcraft-5342994|access-date=July 8, 2010|publisher=Kotaku.com|archive-date=April 18, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418185723/http://kotaku.com/5342994/upcoming-blizzard-battlenet-feature-draw-from-warcraft-xbox-live-life|url-status=live}}</ref>

Having peaked at 12 million monthly subscriptions in 2010, ''World of Warcraft'' subscriptions sunk to 6.8 million in 2014, the lowest number since the end of 2006, prior to ''[[World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade|The Burning Crusade]]'' expansion.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter/ |title=Number of World of Warcraft subscribers from 1st quarter 2005 to 3rd quarter 2014 |publisher=[[Statista]] |access-date=December 18, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217040907/http://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter/ |archive-date=December 17, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pulse2.com/world-of-warcraft-hits-12-million-subscribers/ |title=World of Warcraft Hits 12 Million Subscribers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205121821/http://pulse2.com/2010/10/11/world-of-warcraft-hits-12-million-subscribers/ |archive-date=February 5, 2011 |date=October 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/world-of-warcraft-hits-the-12-million-subscribers-mark/ |title=World of Warcraft hits the 12-million-subscribers mark |author=Ryan Fleming |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210132612/http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/world-of-warcraft-hits-the-12-million-subscribers-mark/ |archive-date=December 10, 2010 |date=October 7, 2010}}</ref> However, ''World of Warcraft'' is still the world's most-subscribed MMORPG,<ref name="Wrath Release Date">{{cite web |title=World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Shatters Day-1 Sales Record |publisher=Blizzard Entertainment |url=https://www.cpugamer.com/news/wrath-of-the-lich-shatters-day-1-sales-record |date=November 20, 2008 |access-date=November 20, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708200826/http://www.cpugamer.com/news/wrath-of-the-lich-shatters-day-1-sales-record |archive-date=July 8, 2011}}</ref><ref name="mmogchart">"[http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart1.html MMOG Active Subscriptions 21.0] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701045444/http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart1.html |date=July 1, 2010 }}", MMOGCHART.COM, June 29, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://old.gigaom.com/2007/06/13/top-ten-most-popular-mmos/ |title=GigaOM Top 10 Most Popular MMOs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701164346/http://gigaom.com/2007/06/13/top-ten-most-popular-mmos/ |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |date=June 13, 2007}}</ref> and holds the [[Guinness World Record]] for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glenday |first=Craig |title=Guinness World Records 2009 |editor=Craig Glenday |publisher=[[Random House]], Inc. |year=2009 |edition=paperback |page=241 |isbn=978-0-553-59256-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHYt0RNSDfgC&q=most+popular+MMORPG&pg=PA269 |access-date=September 18, 2009 |quote=Most popular MMORPG game{{sic}} In terms of the number of online subscribers, ''World of Warcraft'' is the most popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), with 10 million subscribers as of January 2008. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428064910/http://books.google.com/books?id=aHYt0RNSDfgC&pg=PA269 |archive-date=April 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6081496/Video-Backstage-at-BlizzCon-2009.html |title=Video: Backstage at BlizzCon 2009:Thousands of World of Warcraft fans descend on southern California for Blizzard's epic gaming convention |last=Williams |first=Becky |date=August 24, 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |quote=Set in the fantasy world of Azeroth it currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG, which probably accounts for why Blizzard is the most bankable games publisher in the world. |access-date=September 18, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901184912/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6081496/Video-Backstage-at-BlizzCon-2009.html |archive-date=September 1, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/e3/a158552/guinness-announces-gaming-world-records/ |title=Guinness announces gaming world records |last=Langshaw |first=Mark |date=June 6, 2009 |publisher=Digital Spy Limited |access-date=September 18, 2009 |quote=Blizzard's Mike Morhaime and Paul Sams were handed awards for World Of Warcraft and Starcraft, which won Most Popular MMORPG and Best Selling PC Strategy Game respectively. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208162245/http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a158552/guinness-announces-gaming-world-records.html |archive-date=February 8, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |quote=World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG in the world with nearly 12 million subscribers around the world. |url=http://gamers.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/pc_gaming.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405020338/http://gamers.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/pc_gaming.aspx |archive-date=April 5, 2008 |title=Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition – Records – PC Gaming}}</ref> In 2008, Blizzard was honored at the 59th Annual [[Technology & Engineering Emmy Award]]s for the creation of ''World of Warcraft''. [[Mike Morhaime]] accepted the award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emmyonline.com/tech_59th_recipients |title=Winners of 59th Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards Announced by National Television Academy at Consumer Electronics Show |last=Hein |first=Angela |date=January 8, 2008 |website=The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences |access-date=February 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720225149/http://emmyonline.com/tech_59th_recipients |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/14646/Mike-Morhaime/ |title=Mike Morhaime |website=The Centre for Computing History |access-date=February 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403185736/http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/14646/Mike-Morhaime/ |archive-date=April 3, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the merger, Blizzard found it was relying on its well-established properties, but at the same time, the industry was experiencing a shift towards [[indie game]]s. Blizzard established a few small teams within the company to work on developing new concepts based on the indie development approach that it could potentially use. One of these teams quickly came onto the idea of a [[collectible card game]] based on the ''Warcraft'' narrative universe, which ultimately became ''[[Hearthstone]]'', released as a free-to-play title in March 2014.<ref name="guardian 2015">{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/25/hearthstone-blizzard-strategy-trading-cards-greg-austin | title = Hearthstone: how a game developer turned 30m people into card geeks | work = [[The Guardian]] | first = Keith | last = Stewart | date = June 25, 2015 | access-date = April 22, 2016 | archive-date = June 3, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160603015931/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/25/hearthstone-blizzard-strategy-trading-cards-greg-austin | url-status = live }}</ref> ''Hearthstone'' reached over 25 million players by the end of 2014,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Matulef|first1=Jeffrey|title=Destiny has more than 16 million registered users|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/destiny-has-more-than-16-million-registered-users|website=[[Eurogamer]]|publisher=Gamer Network|access-date=February 6, 2015|date=February 5, 2015|archive-date=February 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206040908/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-02-05-destiny-has-more-than-16-million-registered-users|url-status=live}}</ref> and exceeded 100 million players by 2018.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-celebrates-100-million-hearthstone-players-with-free-card-packs-for-everyone/ | title = Blizzard celebrates 100 million Hearthstone players with free card packs for everyone | first = Andy | last = Chalk | date = November 5, 2018 | access-date = November 5, 2018 | magazine = [[PC Gamer]] | archive-date = November 10, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181110163046/https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-celebrates-100-million-hearthstone-players-with-free-card-packs-for-everyone/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

Another small internal team began work around 2008 on a new intellectual property known as ''[[Titan (Blizzard Entertainment project)|Titan]]'', a more contemporary or near-future MMORPG that would have co-existed alongside ''World of Warcraft''. The project gained more visibility in 2010 as a result of some information leaks. Blizzard continued to speak on ''Titan''{{'}}s development over the next few years, with over 100 people within Blizzard working on the project. However, ''Titan''{{'}}s development was troubled, and, internally, in May 2013, Blizzard cancelled the project (publicly reporting this in 2014), and reassigned most of the staff but left about 40 people, led by [[Jeff Kaplan]], to either come up with a fresh idea within a few weeks or have their team reassigned to Blizzard's other departments. The small team came upon the idea of a team-based multiplayer shooter game, reusing many of the assets from ''Titan'' but set in a new near-future narrative. The new project was greenlit by Blizzard and became known as ''[[Overwatch (video game)|Overwatch]]'', which was released in May 2016. ''Overwatch'' became the fourth main intellectual property of Blizzard, following ''Warcraft'', ''StarCraft'', and ''Diablo''.<ref name="gamespot kaplan">{{cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-story-of-overwatch-the-complete-jeff-kaplan-in/1100-6439202/ |title=The Story of Overwatch: The Complete Jeff Kaplan Interview |first1=Danny |last1=O'Dwyer |first2=Justin |last2=Haywald |date=April 26, 2016 |access-date=June 1, 2016 |work=[[GameSpot]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530205229/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-story-of-overwatch-the-complete-jeff-kaplan-in/1100-6439202/ |archive-date=May 30, 2016 }}</ref>

In addition to ''Hearthstone'' and ''Overwatch'', Blizzard Entertainment continued to produce sequels and expansions to its established properties during this period, including ''[[StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty]]'' (2010) and ''[[Diablo III]]'' (2012).<ref>{{Cite web|title=StarCraft 2 at ten: the past, present, and future of the world's greatest RTS|url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/starcraft-2/tenth-anniversary-update|access-date=September 16, 2020|website=PCGamesN|date=August 6, 2020 |language=en-GB|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919184850/https://www.pcgamesn.com/starcraft-2/tenth-anniversary-update|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 14, 2012|title=Diablo III Launches at Midnight: What You Need to Know|url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/255564/diablo_iii_launches_at_midnight_what_you_need_to_know.html|access-date=September 16, 2020|website=PCWorld|language=en|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807092508/https://www.pcworld.com/article/255564/diablo_iii_launches_at_midnight_what_you_need_to_know.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Their [[Crossover (fiction)|major crossover]] title, ''[[Heroes of the Storm]]'', was released as a [[Multiplayer online battle arena|MOBA]] game in 2015.<ref name="release">{{cite press release|date=April 20, 2015|title=Blizzard's Worlds Collide When Heroes of the Storm Launches June 2 – Everyone's invited to join the battle for the Nexus when open beta testing begins on May 19|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150420005352/en/Blizzard%E2%80%99s-Worlds-Collide-Heroes-Storm%E2%84%A2-Launches-June|access-date=April 20, 2015|archive-date=April 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423214341/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150420005352/en/Blizzard%E2%80%99s-Worlds-Collide-Heroes-Storm%E2%84%A2-Launches-June|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Kuchera|first=Ben|date=May 21, 2014|title=Blizzard set out to make a StarCraft mod, and instead reinvented gaming's most popular genre|url=https://www.polygon.com/2014/5/21/5723572/heroes-of-the-storm-making-of-blizzard|access-date=June 7, 2020|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807090059/https://www.polygon.com/2014/5/21/5723572/heroes-of-the-storm-making-of-blizzard|url-status=live}}</ref> The game featured various characters from Blizzard's franchises as playable heroes, as well as different battlegrounds based on ''Warcraft'', ''Diablo'', ''StarCraft'', and ''Overwatch'' universes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=From Warcraft III to Heroes of the Storm, Talking Art and Blizzard's Long History with Samwise Didier – AusGamers.com|url=https://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/3564332|access-date=November 29, 2019|website=ausgamers.com|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806100904/https://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/3564332|url-status=live}}</ref> In the late 2010s, Blizzard released ''[[StarCraft: Remastered]]'' (2017) and ''[[Warcraft III: Reforged]]'' (2020)'','' [[remaster]]ed versions of the original ''StarCraft'' and ''Warcraft III,'' respectively''.''<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Here's When You Can Play 'StarCraft' With 4K Graphics|url=https://time.com/4841289/starcraft-remastered-release-date-price/|access-date=September 16, 2020|magazine=Time|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918140436/https://time.com/4841289/starcraft-remastered-release-date-price/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Carpenter|first=Nicole|date=December 17, 2019|title=Warcraft 3: Reforged delayed to 2020|url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/12/17/21026923/warcraft-3-reforged-delay-2020-blizzard-entertainment|access-date=September 16, 2020|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031940/https://www.polygon.com/2019/12/17/21026923/warcraft-3-reforged-delay-2020-blizzard-entertainment|url-status=live}}</ref>

The May 2016 release of ''Overwatch'' was highly successful, and was the highest-selling game on PC for 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vg247.com/2016/12/22/overwatch-brought-in-more-money-than-any-other-paid-pc-game-in-2016/ |title=Overwatch brought in more money than any other paid PC game in 2016 |first=Sharif |last=Saed |date=December 22, 2016 |access-date=December 22, 2016 |work=[[VG247]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223132212/https://www.vg247.com/2016/12/22/overwatch-brought-in-more-money-than-any-other-paid-pc-game-in-2016/ |archive-date=December 23, 2016 }}</ref> Several traditional [[esport]] events had been established within the year of ''Overwatch''{{'s}} release, such as the [[Overwatch World Cup]], but Blizzard continued to expand this and announced the first esports professional league, the [[Overwatch League]] at the 2016 BlizzCon event. The company purchased a studio at [[The Burbank Studios]] in [[Burbank, California]], that it converted into a dedicated esports venue, Blizzard Arena, to be used for the Overwatch League and other events.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/blizzard-opening-dedicated-esports-production-facility |title=Blizzard opening dedicated esports production facility |first=Brendan |last=Sinclair |date=September 7, 2017 |access-date=September 7, 2017 |work=[[GamesIndustry.biz]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908020202/http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-09-07-blizzard-opening-dedicated-esports-production-facility |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The inaugural season of the Overwatch League launched on January 10, 2018, with 12 global teams playing. By the second season in 2019 it had expanded the League to 20 teams, and with its third season in 2020, it will have these teams traveling across the globe in a transitional home/away-style format.

In 2012, Blizzard Entertainment had 4,700 employees,<ref name="gamasutra-dice-2012">{{cite web |author=Gamasutra Staff |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/40230/DICE_2012_Blizzards_Pearce_on_World_Of_Warcrafts_launch_hangover.php |title=DICE 2012: Blizzard's Pearce on World Of Warcraft's launch hangover |website=[[Gamasutra]] |date=February 9, 2012 |access-date=January 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208121006/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/40230/DICE_2012_Blizzards_Pearce_on_World_Of_Warcrafts_launch_hangover.php |archive-date=February 8, 2013}}</ref> with offices across 11 cities including [[Austin, Texas]], and countries around the globe. {{as of|2015|June|}}, the company's headquarters in Irvine, California had 2,622 employees.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://legacy.cityofirvine.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=28198 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817005017/https://legacy.cityofirvine.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=28198 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |title=City of Irvine, California – Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – For fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 |publisher=[[Irvine, California]] |access-date=July 31, 2016}}</ref>