David Brevik : Activision taking over Blizzard

[Niwes]

Except it's wrong. See the link in my post at #95. That's why you have to take all of this with a sackful of salt. If Brevik got that wrong then how can you believe anything else he said?

Money quote (as it were):


Brevik apparently was unaware of any of this although it seems possible that he got the news about the bonus program from an article on Gamespot [link]. Note also that Gamespot has corrected the article which originally stated that Blizzard employees would be losing money. Salary adjustments were apparently made starting in December of 2017 according to Blizzard.

So apparently his inside source for the bonus program was an article on Gamespot that since has had to be corrected due to its being wrong. Furthermore the corrected article says that while the Holiday Bonus lump sum was divided up over the course of the entire year as part of employee base salaries, the Profit Sharing Bonus program is still there.

Doesn't speak well for anything else he said does it?

previously i always thought you are just a white knight, liking Blizzard and fighting for Blizzards life, to keep your own life at mmoc. because no wow, no mmoc.

over the years, and when i hear you here, and your knowledge in the industry (that instantly mentioned gamespot thing) and that „small fine thing between the lines“ ... i slowly come more and more to the conclusion, you are defenitelly paied by Blizzard.

i mean, look at your posts. when i look where and when and to what you posted, it has a huuuge feeling of marketing, smoothing the waves.

sorry, but more and more it seems to me, you are paied by Blizzard, to influence or smooth out oppinions at the base in forums like this.

[Easo]

One also could think that people leaving jobs after decades in it is something new. No, it is not.
Sometimes they want a change, no matter how much time and effort they invested in their "baby".

[bluspacecow]

As far as the profit-sharing program - nothing here makes any sense. Is there a separate profit-sharing program for employees (not morhaime's special program)?

Yes there is. There was both the Blizzard Holiday Plan and the Blizzard Profit Sharing Plan. The Blizzard holiday plan offered employees a roughly 37% bonus at the end of the year. Morhaime's Profit Sharing plan was a separate bonus program but apparently offered the same benefits as the BPSP.

The Holiday plan is the one that was ended at the end of 2017. So far I have found no proof the BPSP has ended. As it has do with bonuses / profit sharing plans they would of had to , at the very least , file something with the Securities and Exchanges commission. Absolutely nothing there on this and none of my google searches have turned up proof it's ended.

The only thing I have been able to find is an developer review on GlassDoor for ATVI listing profit sharing as one of the perks for working there , posted in May 2018. I haven't linked it as 1 occurrence does not a pattern make.

[Deleted]

Let's be real, Brevik probably has more knowledge of Blizzard's inner workings, even nowadays, than all of these forums combined. Whether he has made a couple bad games is hardly relevant to the fact that it's very likely he keeps in contact with plenty of Blizzard people, and has access to information we can't even begin to imagine.

For all we know, the guy could have been eating lunch with Morhaime five minutes after he left. Dismissing an industry veteran like Brevik as a "nobody that talks rubbish" is beyond delusional.

[bluspacecow]

so they cancel the bonusprogram. saying that nobody will lose money. and a few months later they lay off a couple of hundreds of employees. so they save a lot of money the would have to give out otherwise since its now baked into the salery. smart move mr. activision blizzard. (now we will wait and see if there will be layoffs or more outsorceing reported)

1. There's no proof the Blizzard Entertainment Profit Sharing plan was cancelled. Only the holiday program that they advised the SEC they had adjusted everyones salaries to account for the reduced salaries
2. Where is your proof that hundreds of people were laid off ?

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over the years, and when i hear you here, and your knowledge in the industry (that instantly mentioned gamespot thing) and that „small fine thing between the lines“ ... i slowly come more and more to the conclusion, you are defenitelly paied by Blizzard.

i mean, look at your posts. when i look where and when and to what you posted, it has a huuuge feeling of marketing, smoothing the waves.

sorry, but more and more it seems to me, you are paied by Blizzard, to influence or smooth out oppinions at the base in forums like this.

WTF is paied.

Also of course a moderator is going to post in a fashion to smooth waves. Do you even know how forum moderation works ?

[kamuimac]

David Brevik is an American video game designer, producer and programmer who served as the co-founder and president of Blizzard

https://clips.twitch.tv/DifferentBen...rcupineGivePLZ

good - BfA is very strong expansion so much better then legion was .

if activision will take over it will be only better and better.

[Justpassing]

Well what can we do?

[ManiaCCC]

I don't think Chris Metzen left because of Activision

He was very open about it. He just wasn't happy. He was rich, he was creating new "worlds", yet life was passing by in ridiculous speed.

[Zandalariprelate]

Well what can we do?

Buy more cosmetics!!! /jk

Just wait and see how this turns out

[Deficineiron]

Yes there is. There was both the Blizzard Holiday Plan and the Blizzard Profit Sharing Plan. The Blizzard holiday plan offered employees a roughly 37% bonus at the end of the year. Morhaime's Profit Sharing plan was a separate bonus program but apparently offered the same benefits as the BPSP.

The Holiday plan is the one that was ended at the end of 2017. So far I have found no proof the BPSP has ended. As it has do with bonuses / profit sharing plans they would of had to , at the very least , file something with the Securities and Exchanges commission. Absolutely nothing there on this and none of my google searches have turned up proof it's ended.

The only thing I have been able to find is an developer review on GlassDoor for ATVI listing profit sharing as one of the perks for working there , posted in May 2018. I haven't linked it as 1 occurrence does not a pattern make.

weird deal, right? Maybe they have decided to end it and the effective date hasn't hit yet (thus no 8k). or - Would they have to 8k it separate from the 10k/q for the quarter just ended earlier if they just include it in that document next month and it doesn't take effect until october 1st - could this be arguing to just be a change customarily reported in the 10q/k's and thus not needing separate, immediate disclosure? Dunno.

The last thing I am going to do is start second-guessing a guy who presumably has as much industry- and company-specific insight and contacts as this one. He outright says this is inside info, iirc.

Without some track record of demonstrably false definitive statements like the one about the profit-sharing plan, but in retrospect, I find the posters declaring the guy's views as no more credible than their own to be extraordinarily arrogant.

[TJ]

If that's what's happening then it seems to be for the better. Legion and BfA are both great expansions on par with WotLK. I just want to see more of that direction in the game.

Hell of a joke that mate.

[Shakari]

Legion was beset by crippling flaws.

Legiondaries were absolutely terrible for the first nine months. The AP grind at the start was the most grindy and terrible the game has ever been.

Then when they finally got that sorted they released shit raids like mythic Tomb of Sargeras (grossly overtuned, monotonous, frustrating, repetitive encounter design) and mythic Antorus (grossly undertuned outside of Argus).

Nighthold was a great raid, but had the awful legiondary and AP grind problems (700 maw of souls +7 ho)

I will say, Legion didn't have forced personal loot and that's a mark in its favour. A low bar to be sure but BFA can't even manage that.

Your entitled to your opinion ofc but that's all it is an opinion, not fact.

In my opinion I real didn't notice an AP grind, you got AP thrown at you by the bucket naturally, any grinding was totally self motivated and not the fault of Blizzard.

However there were issues with the Legendaries but unless your in a top10 guild realistically was not that major an issue and they did sort it out.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Let's be real, Brevik probably has more knowledge of Blizzard's inner workings, even nowadays, than all of these forums combined. Whether he has made a couple bad games is hardly relevant to the fact that it's very likely he keeps in contact with plenty of Blizzard people, and has access to information we can't even begin to imagine.

For all we know, the guy could have been eating lunch with Morhaime five minutes after he left. Dismissing an industry veteran like Brevik as a "nobody that talks rubbish" is beyond delusional.

The guy left Blizzard back when it was still part of Vivendi Games. Before Activision ever entered the picture. I doubt he has much priveledged information these days.

[FelPlague]

so they cancel the bonusprogram. saying that nobody will lose money. and a few months later they lay off a couple of hundreds of employees. so they save a lot of money the would have to give out otherwise since its now baked into the salery. smart move mr. activision blizzard. (now we will wait and see if there will be layoffs or more outsorceing reported)

go read post number 95 and 99... seriously...

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Let's be real, Brevik probably has more knowledge of Blizzard's inner workings, even nowadays, than all of these forums combined. Whether he has made a couple bad games is hardly relevant to the fact that it's very likely he keeps in contact with plenty of Blizzard people, and has access to information we can't even begin to imagine.

For all we know, the guy could have been eating lunch with Morhaime five minutes after he left. Dismissing an industry veteran like Brevik as a "nobody that talks rubbish" is beyond delusional.

he hasnt worked for blzizard for 15 years, so no... i doubt it.
also it was proven his "inside sources" where a gamespot article.

[maccajoe]

Lol the women hes with dsnt even know wtf hes saying.

[FelPlague]

All I'm gonna say is this. After the merger, WoW went in a massively different direction and began abandoning its depth, Diablo 3 was restarted, SC2 released with only 1 campaign, with the other 2 being sold as expansions, and Hearthstone entered development.

One could argue none of those things were good for the player, and all were good for the company. I honestly believe if players and customers weren't loyal, WoW would be a dead game, as would most of their games. Sadly I think everyone remembers the way things used to be, and we all stick around hoping it returns.

1. diablo 3 restarted? what do you mean?
2. starcraft was in development for ALONG time, and you seem to forget how starcraft 1 had expansions for campaigns too...
3. you saying hearthstone is bad for the player, what the utter fuck? hearthstone is one of their most popular if not most popular games

[Deficineiron]

he hasnt worked for blzizard for 15 years, so no... i doubt it.
also it was proven his "inside sources" where a gamespot article.

Proven? Do you understand what a proof is, or how to prove something?

I would be quite interested to see where his inside source was 'proven' to be a gamespot article.

[bluspacecow]

weird deal, right? Maybe they have decided to end it and the effective date hasn't hit yet (thus no 8k). or - Would they have to 8k it separate from the 10k/q for the quarter just ended earlier if they just include it in that document next month and it doesn't take effect until october 1st - could this be arguing to just be a change customarily reported in the 10q/k's and thus not needing separate, immediate disclosure? Dunno.

IIRC Changes in bonus programs are filed under a form 14A , not a 10K or 8K

Also if it were something that wasn't effective yet they would still need to file that ahead of time. For example each time they've paid off a bit off their debt they've announced that ahead of time in either a 8K or 10K

The last thing I am going to do is start second-guessing a guy who presumably has as much industry- and company-specific insight and contacts as this one. He outright says this is inside info, iirc.

No he didn't. He inferred he might of had insider knowledge on what Blizzard are coming out with. Not on a Activision take over of Blizzard (which is beginning to look more and more like drunken ramblings from Dave given the exasperated looks his wife kept giving him)

[FelPlague]

previously i always thought you are just a white knight, liking Blizzard and fighting for Blizzards life, to keep your own life at mmoc. because no wow, no mmoc.

over the years, and when i hear you here, and your knowledge in the industry (that instantly mentioned gamespot thing) and that „small fine thing between the lines“ ... i slowly come more and more to the conclusion, you are defenitelly paied by Blizzard.

i mean, look at your posts. when i look where and when and to what you posted, it has a huuuge feeling of marketing, smoothing the waves.

sorry, but more and more it seems to me, you are paied by Blizzard, to influence or smooth out oppinions at the base in forums like this.

"Person provides factual evidence and logical points... THEY MUST BE A PAID SHILL!"
and no, none of us that i know of are paid by blizzard, we just like to look at facts, and logic instead of "BUT MUH HATE"
I am sure if blizz was paying people to do so, i would be rich, which im not.
also in some places like where i am from if you are paid to say something you must disclose that.

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Proven? Do you understand what a proof is, or how to prove something?

I would be quite interested to see where his inside source was 'proven' to be a gamespot article.

again look at post 95 and 99, where what he says is literaly the exact same thing as in that article.

[pansertjald]

If that's what's happening then it seems to be for the better. Legion and BfA are both great expansions on par with WotLK. I just want to see more of that direction in the game.

Lol what? BFA on par with WOTLK. What are you smoking?