Company Profile

Blizzard Entertainment® is a premier publisher of entertainment software. Since establishing the Blizzard label in 1994, the company has quickly become one of the most popular and well-respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception.

Blizzard's track record of back-to-back #1-selling games spans more than a decade, and with blockbuster hits such as World of Warcraft®, Warcraft® III: Reign of Chaos™, Diablo® II, and StarCraft®, the company has earned several consecutive Game of the Year awards. In addition, Blizzard's online game service, Battle.net®, is the largest of its kind in the world, with millions of active users.

Blizzard's most recent release was World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade™, the expansion set to the company's bestselling, award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. Launched in January 2007 in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade sold a record-setting 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability and a record 3.5 million copies within its first month. The expansion was launched in Korea in February 2007 following a highly successful beta test there, and localization into Simplified and Traditional Chinese is currently underway in preparation for releases in mainland China and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

World of Warcraft initially launched on November 23, 2004 in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, with subsequent launches in Korea, Europe, mainland China, Singapore, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in 2005 and Thailand and Malaysia in 2007. The game has achieved unprecedented popularity on a global scale, with currently more than 8.5 million subscribers worldwide. It is available in seven different languages based on the regions in which it is played, and has earned awards and praise from publications worldwide.

Blizzard's original Warcraft game, Warcraft®: Orcs and Humans™, was touted as one of the best strategy games of 1994, and the game's epic sequel, 1995's Warcraft® II: Tides of Darkness™, won numerous awards, including the company's first Game of the Year award. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released in July 2002, has likewise won several accolades and has become a staple of professional tournament gaming, along with its expansion, the award-winning Warcraft® III: The Frozen Throne™, which was released in July 2003.

On June 28, 2008, Blizzard Entertainment unveiled Diablo III, the latest entry in its landmark action-role-playing game (RPG) franchise, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event in Paris, France. The original Diablo, which shipped to stores in the last week of December 1996, debuted at #1 in the United States and was widely credited as having helped to revitalize the RPG genre. In 2000, Blizzard launched the game's sequel, Diablo II, which set the record for fastest-selling PC game ever at the time of its release. The company followed up in 2001 with the expansion, Diablo® II: Lord of Destruction™, which sold more than a million copies in its first month and was one of the biggest sellers of 2001, in addition to receiving widespread critical acclaim.

StarCraft, which Blizzard released in March 1998, was the company's third #1-selling game and was listed as the bestselling game of 1998 by PC Data. The game's expansion set, StarCraft®: Brood War™, was named best expansion of 1998 and is still considered by many critics to be one of the best add-on products to date.

Prior to the release of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Blizzard served as a third-party developer, creating entertainment software for various platforms, including DOS, Macintosh, Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo. The company's best-known titles from this era include Rock 'n Roll Racing, The Lost Vikings, Blackthorne, and The Death and Return of Superman.

The Blizzard research and development group comprises more than 250 designers, producers, programmers, artists, and sound engineers. Each member of the Blizzard staff is a true game enthusiast, giving the company invaluable insight into creating products for gamers.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, was founded in 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by Allen Adham, President Michael Morhaime, and Executive Vice President Frank Pearce.

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