Did you know that Blizzard Entertainment once got kicked out of a hotel because the company’s employees accidentally flooded it?
That’s just one of many fascinating stories from Bloomberg reporter and author Jason Schreier’s new book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment.
Compiled based on interviews with over 350 individuals, Schreier tells the story of the legendary developer behind World of Warcraft (WoW), Diablo, StarCraft, and Overwatch, diving into the team’s humble origins, myriad games, merger with Activision, and eventual acquisition by Microsoft in October 2023.
I had the chance to read Play Nice before its official release, and overall, it’s a book I recommend to anyone who is curious about why things sometimes happen the way they do at major gaming publishers. If you’re a longtime fan of Blizzard’s games, it’s an even more thrilling read that’s pushed into must-buy territory.
I was provided a review copy of Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Grand Central Publishing. The company did not see the contents of this article before publication.
Blizzard Entertainment has a history that defines genres
This is Schreier’s third book — he previously wrote Blood, Sweat, and Pixels and Press Reset, which both focused on a number of different teams across the gaming industry.
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Play Nice exhibits Shreiers’ confident understanding of video game subject material as well as his writing experience. This isn’t a story that could work as a singular report, however in-depth. Rather, it excels as a detailed examination that carefully progresses through the years.
I do want to set some expectations, as you shouldn’t expect wild reveal after wild reveal. It’s a book firmly focused on telling the stories of people and situations, not an exhaustive list of upcoming and unannounced games or shocking scoops.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any newsworthy tidbits. There are certainly some interesting things that are sure to make headlines, such as the pre-release report that Blizzard Entertainment is incubating a StarCraft shooter again. Rather, that’s not the main focus. Play Nice tells a saga, one that rewards patient observation and answers a lot of tiny questions that all add up by the end.
It’s easy to offer a critique of a company from the outside when problems show themselves, but more insidious issues bubbling beneath the surface can be just as damaging.
This book reveals who often got along (and who didn’t), as well as other details, like how former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick wanted to hire hundreds of new developers in order to push out Overwatch 2.
If you’re someone who’s paid close attention to the saga of Activision Blizzard over the years, there are a couple of particular chapters that feel like the section of a history book where you see red arrows on a map with “Factors leading to this war” written to the side.
Personally, I always wondered what the power struggle between the Activision and Blizzard portions of the company looked like. Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, ever a controversial figure, increasingly took a direct hand in micromanaging Blizzard, but exactly when that started to happen and the form it took was never entirely clear to me until now. This book sheds a lot of light in that area, revealing who often got along (and who didn’t), as well as other details, like how Kotick wanted to hire hundreds of new developers in order to push out Overwatch 2.
Ultimately, what I enjoyed the most about this book is its nuance. Schreier is at his best when asking questions, and the answers to those questions are often complicated. As much as an audience might desire to yell and blame everything on a singular boogeyman, truth can be a multifaceted mess, and that’s exactly what Play Nice gets into with the heart of the struggle between Activision and Blizzard.
If you’re someone who has a lot of questions about the details of why things have happened at Blizzard the exact way they have, then I highly recommend this book.
Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment is slated to be released at retailers on Oct. 8, 2024. Preorders are currently available.