Why is everybody leaving Blizzard?

[Vorkreist]

Are you drunk? Seriously?

Overwatch has a single micro transaction, which is for loot boxes. Which your given every level, even after each prestige. The box's mostly contain random shit that doesn't impact game play and no one even notices for example voice lines. Theres cosmetic items such as sprays and skins granted, but there aren't many for example, I've got 5 legendary ones and one pre order bonus skin from my boxes and I'm only level 83, without having to buy a single one. Oh, they also give you currency in the boxes to buy said items (again, Ive had a total of 2800, when the most expensive thing is 1k, thats not bad) Oh, they also give you currency for any item duplicates you get.

As far as micro-transactions go, Overwatch has to be the least micro-transaction-ey that I know.

Had you of said just hearthstone, I'd of agreed with you to a point, people will always want more cards.

So in your mind just because you decide to grind that stuff, the millions of carebears won't throw their wallets at the screen?
Overwatch IS a microtransaction cashcow
Hearthstone IS a microtransaction cashcow
Hots IS a microtransaction cashcow
Even WoW fits here considering they were bragging how the shop/services sales cover their massive sub losses.

[GrieverXIII]

To me, Metzen leaving makes sense. I've seen him in person at Blizzcon (2007) and he literally was the best part of going there. He was hilarious and full of energy and just awesome to listen to. I've seen him speak several times online over the years and I feel you can tell the guy was just slowly getting more burnt out and just didn't care as much anymore over the years.

I personally think he was not a fan of what Blizzard became after they became the WoW company and he liked the old school Blizzard. You can tell he talks really fondly about that and how it felt like a frat. Then he talks about it now and says it feels like a corporation with different departments and tons of people whom he has no idea who they are.

I'd assume that's what the Bonfire studios that has 5 senior Blizzard employees will be more like and why it was formed and wouldn't be surprised to see Metzen go there in a few months if he does go back into the industry.

This pretty much, i think a lot of these guys simply aren't happy with the hyper-corporate turn Blizzard took, the guys leaving to make Bonfire or maybe for Riot are probably first in line in this.

For others, they either want to pursue a different path (at least 3 of them made that clear) or are just obviously burnt out (Metzen).

Its pretty natural, specially when your part of the people that virtually shaped a company, chances it didn't evolve the same way everyone at Blizzard would had hoped for and at that point there's very little else to do than move on.

[Deleted]

It's been like that since Wrath, since they merged with Activision, this not a recent development at all.

If you say they're a business and of course they are just trying to make money, you aren't an old school Blizzard fan, because their stuff after the merger has a noticeably different feel.

Their stuff used to be essentially art, now its a product.

True. Haven't played much after Wrath. Most of the time I quit after a couple of months. I didn't even touch Warlords of Draenor.

I do understand Blizzards point of view and I would do it the same. Keep people playing for longer -> get more money.
I have to be honest and say that I would be that greedy aswell. A product has to bring in money. When the passion is gone you have to find other ways to make people feel the need to pay. They are doing a great job at it.
The single most "addictive" thing that is going to keep people paying is random legendaries. It's like a gambling addiction. You feel like a real gambler when opening the daily world chest in the hope for a big hit.

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Edit : lol at all those naive idiots who think Blizzard isn't doing this for money. They are a company and want to make more and more money. Grow up and get a grip of reality

[DeadmanWalking]

There really is no story here, I know doomsayers like to use it as proof that the company is doomed but it just isn't so. These people made a lot of money and they don't want to do this anymore and they don't have to because they have a lot of money. The end.

[GrieverXIII]

Edit : lol at all those naive idiots who think Blizzard isn't doing this for money. They are a company and want to make more and more money. Grow up and get a grip of reality

Who said that? Of course they do it for the money, its their job, how they pay their bills and feed their family.

You're the one demonizing the act of doing so.

[Deleted]

Who said that? Of course they do it for the money, its their job, how they pay their bills and feed their family.

You're the one demonizing the act of doing so.

whaaaaaaat

I'd do the same. I love money.

[Rotted]

So in your mind just because you decide to grind that stuff, the millions of carebears won't throw their wallets at the screen?
Overwatch IS a microtransaction cashcow
Hearthstone IS a microtransaction cashcow
Hots IS a microtransaction cashcow
Even WoW fits here considering they were bragging how the shop/services sales cover their massive sub losses.

Level 83 out of what 900 something? over the course of 3 months now is it? I wouldn't call that grinding. And highlight the exact point I said people don't throw money at it please. Of course they do, but suggesting Overwatch is a heavy micro-transaction game is just wrong.

Hearthstone is, I didn;t deny that, infact I said I'd agree hearthstone is.
HoTS, no idea, I've only dabbled in it for about 15 hours and I nearly had enough currency for the expensive heroes, but no where near enough to form an opinion on it.
And I'd agree that WoW is as well. I think the shop has got to ridiculous levels. But hey, if its keeping our sub costs down, I don't really care

[Syri79]

If you're into last months news, you must have noticed that on last months, lots of workers are leaving blizzard to work on other companys.


Any guesses on why is this happening, and how it can affect blizzard titles?

Developers may want to work on something different for a change, after being in the same place for so long. That's not unusual really... As for the timing, a big project has just come to a close (Legion) so it's sensible for people to leave once they've finished what they're working on, hence several leaving in a short space of time.

[Cæli]

from look of it 8.0 will be last chapter of wow - it all sums up - metzen written the ending , quest dev has probably already designed main lore questing etc etc - with coming months we will probably see more and more people leaving game to not be the last person who turns off lights

That's a bit naive to think that.

And I mean, WoW is a game, like a brand, brands can live centuries, but people actually age and die. I'm just stating the obvious for those who forgot that

[Vanthere83]

The sky is not falling not everyone is leaving Blizzard. Regardless of what you might think Blizzard is a business, and as a business employs people.

As you enter the working world, and as you advance your career there are a couple of things that matter. 1) How much money do you make? 2) How much shit do you put up with and is it worth it.

People leaving a business is standard practice. When you've been in the industry a long time (any industry) you either move up (and make more money) or you stand pat and get small incremental raises every year. At a certain point you hit a ceiling. Corporations are structured such that there's a point where you max out. You don't get any more raises (aside from maybe cost of living). When you hit this point if your not in a job you absolutely love, or your ambition is to make more money, then you leave. You pursue the next opportunity doing something that you hopefully enjoy ( or if your like me whatever job pays the most).

MMO-Champion reports 5 people leaving blizzard and people think ohh my god so many people are leaving something must be wrong. Five people isn't shit, I work in electronics manufacturing and around 5 years ago my plant laid off 350 people in one shot, at the time that was 50% of the work force. The reason they laid off 350 people was money, which is the same reason most likely that Metzen and company left blizzard, either that or they had enough money.

Yes some of these people are artist, but if your under the illusion that its not about money you are naive and deluded. Pursuing other creative opportunities is a way of saying this company is going to either give me a better job or pay me more money with better benefits than the one im currently at. The gaming industry has blown up. The competition by multiple companies for good employees is at a peak. Its a good time to be a game developer right now. This works well for all parties involved. Companies can acquire experienced people to make their games better, Companies can get new people that have a fresh outlook and cost less money, young people can get in with businesses they have dreamed of working for, and veteran developers can find new homes with higher ceilings.

[Eurhetemec]

The amount of denial is overwhelming. They are losing a lot of people in a very short period of time. But hey... close your eyes. If you can't see it, it isn't happening.

They've lost a lot of people in a very short period of time COUNTLESS TIMES, dude. I know you can't accept this, just like you claims Ion Hazzikostas going to work for Blizzard had nothing to do with EJ closing down, but it's the reality.

Yes some of these people are artist, but if your under the illusion that its not about money you are naive and deluded. Pursuing other creative opportunities is a way of saying this company is going to either give me a better job or pay me more money with better benefits than the one im currently at. The gaming industry has blown up. The competition by multiple companies for good employees is at a peak. Its a good time to be a game developer right now. This works well for all parties involved. Companies can acquire experienced people to make their games better, Companies can get new people that have a fresh outlook and cost less money, young people can get in with businesses they have dreamed of working for, and veteran developers can find new homes with higher ceilings.

Indeed, and the creative dude going to LoL is a good example of this. There is pretty much a 0% chance that Riot/LoL offers better opportunities to express yourself creatively than WoW. But can they offer better money, better working hours, other perks? I am pretty sure that they can.

[Ayperos]

Something is going on. 3 people alone left last week. Not to mention all the other community managers, Rob, Paul, Chris, Nick. I'm not buying they are just going to do something else or retire. Something smells fishy. Is any veteran still there besides Sam? I guess he is next, expect his goodbye post soon.

[Deleted]

I have a theory about that, but if i say it, a lot of "paladins" over here are gonna rape my ass, so i don't say nothing

[Aneae]

Dropped in to see the obligatory doomsaying posts. I sure wasn't disappointed; it's almost like people think the gaming industry is the exception when it comes to changing jobs or just retiring from them altogether.

[Queen of Hamsters]

"Everybody"... nice hyperbole you got there.

[Sencha]

http://www.bonfirestudios.com/ expect more Blizz devs joining this .. i guess many of the Blizz devs wanna go for their own game idea without some bigger company standing on top of them

Exactly. And their motto is "Our purpose is to build friendships by creating legendary game experiences that bring players closer together, united in a sense of adventure, exploration and fellowship".

Looks like some employees are also fed up with games like WoW looking more and more like a single player experience. They want to recreate what made WoW an awesome game where guilds were relevant and almost mandatory. With the introduction of LFR/LFD, people are barely talking to each other and devs are focusing on solo content, which is the worst thing to do for a MMORPG.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Exactly. And their motto is "Our purpose is to build friendships by creating legendary game experiences that bring players closer together, united in a sense of adventure, exploration and fellowship".

Looks like some employees are also fed up with games like WoW looking more and more like a single player experience. They want to recreate what made WoW an awesome game where guilds were relevant and almost mandatory. With the introduction of LFR/LFD, people are barely talking to each other and devs are focusing on solo content, which is the worst thing to do for a MMORPG.

You still need a guild to beat most endgame PVE content. A guild was NEVER mandatory in this game, unless you wanted to raid. Simple fact.

Raids are still very much a thing, and believing that the crowd settling for LFR (lol) would flow into proper raiding, is a pretty big logical fallacy considering the history of raid participation.

[Demeia]

Greg Street talked about the problems of stability at a company like blizzard: it's hard to get a promotion when there's not a lot of people changing jobs. The fact that a VIP left and another sub-VIP left leads me to believe the sub-VIP didn't get the promotion they wanted. But that's pure speculation.

It's very possible Craig Amai is leaving because he does have a project lead job elsewhere.

[Rudkobing]

Rats leaving a sinking ship or......

Their contracts are up.
/shrug

[ent0mbed]

from look of it 8.0 will be last chapter of wow

Ah yes... never heard the prediction of the end before. One thing is for certain... say this statement enough times over a long enough period of time and you will eventually get it right. Good luck!

The year 2018, "I'm telling you what guys... this is the end for WoW... this is the last expansion."
The year 2020, "I'm telling you what guys... this is the end for WoW... this is the last expansion."
The year 2022, "I'm telling you.........
.........
At some point, in some year Blizzard actually announces that there will not be another expansion: "SEE?? I told you so! I knew this would be the end! I was right!!!"