Mike Morhaime Starts New Gaming Company, Dreamhaven

[zolfare]

You do not know that and, obviously, that is the opposite to the real case. They would not create two studios if they didn´t have ideas.
Most likely he has something in mind which has been there for decades already and now found a good time to get on with it and see what happens.


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I wonder... could this be the "beginning" of something coming from the echo of the famous project Titan?

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Lots of respect for him. I´d go as far as calling him a hero of the gaming industry, and no, I am no die hard fan or something.

I really look forward to see if something comes out, which I expect to happen. But we probably won´t hear much more about it all for a good couple of long years, and then a good couple more.

I mean, his first statement about Dreamhaven (its even in the name of the company for God's sake) is taking MASSIVE shots at Activision Blizzard...

No, this is not going to be project Titan you ditz. That has already been talked about by Blizzard themselves. Project Titan was an MMO version of Overwatch that was not coming close to working out, so they cut the cord with it turned it into Overwatch.

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Years later after he helped hurt the industry and drove blizzard into its current course all while profiting heavily.

Is a hero some one who helped caused a problem while pocketing money to You?

So you were there? You saw every decision he made and therefore have some kind of inside knowledge as to how Blizzard got swallowed by Activision that was a direct result of what Mike did? I mean, the only thing that guy ever truly did (before Activision bought out Blizzard) was try to build the best possible games he could. He did that with Frank and Allen.

Now I agree with you that he is not a hero, but he is definitely not this nasty image you are painting of him.

[Jibjub]

Sounds "old-school" to me.

lol fair ... except that single-player part.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

So you were there? You saw every decision he made and therefore have some kind of inside knowledge as to how Blizzard got swallowed by Activision that was a direct result of what Mike did? I mean, the only thing that guy ever truly did (before Activision bought out Blizzard) was try to build the best possible games he could. He did that with Frank and Allen.

Now I agree with you that he is not a hero, but he is definitely not this nasty image you are painting of him.

Haven't commented on activsion and blizzard relations or how mike was involved as I don't think that really matters.

what I have commented on is him willing to stick with blizzard while they were doing massive layoffs and supporting things that are toxic to the industry like loot boxes and he fits perfectly into that nasty picture as its what happened. Not that I fault him for it really It's what most people in the industry would do people actually taking a stand is incredibly rare.

[Sorrowseer]

Man this sounds so 'safe space' I could not help but be amused, this naming sense though lmao.

[Hctaz]

And if there was something with that Metzen would have come out and said "Yeah those fucks at activision fucked over everything." yet like everyone else he's kept to the Blizzard is Blizzard, Activision is Activision.

I don't think they CAN say that shit though.

Mike is CLEARLY saying that RIGHT NOW with the statement about his new company. Do you think that's aimed at anybody OTHER than Activision? If that's the case, why would he NOT JUST SAY THAT instead of making some semi-cryptic post?

They probably have some contract or something that prevents them from speaking badly about the Activision merger.

[Kralljin]

That is, honestly, non-sensical. Morhaime is not some "paragon of virtue that would never be swayed". Anyone can "just say no". Doesn't mean he will.

I didn't claim that, i'm saying that he has the power to say "no" now, whereas previously all he could do was threatening to quit.
Your initial post made it sound like that any company could just go and buy the company when they want to, which they can't if Morhaime says no.

Just because Morhaime may not have had a say in Activision buying Blizzard, doesn't mean he wasn't on board with it.

That's obviously possible, it could be very much be that Morhaime was promised to be mostly independant from Activision, which could then slowly but surely turned out to be a lie because they used corporate hierarchy to force certain expectations upon Blizzard.

However, you don't need to have psychic powers to read between the lines here, the very name of the company is an indirect signal towards major gaming publishers, which without a doubt also includes Activision.

[Cavox]

All the best to you, Mike. I honestly hate Activision-Blizzard, but I never had beef with you or anyone from Blizzard North. I hope you will be successful in your goal of making the industry better.

[scelero]

Hate on Activision-Blizzard all you want. As long as you keep feeding that beast, none of you can complain. Stop giving them your money if you truly have anything of ANY VALUE to say.

[Lurker1]

Hate on Activision-Blizzard all you want. As long as you keep feeding that beast, none of you can complain. Stop giving them your money if you truly have anything of ANY VALUE to say.

The hate is stupid anyways imho "oh noes a game company i don't play there games anymore is still around making games the horror!" fucking stupid just move on imho for the haters.

[Ielenia]

I didn't claim that, i'm saying that he has the power to say "no" now, whereas previously all he could do was threatening to quit.
Your initial post made it sound like that any company could just go and buy the company when they want to, which they can't if Morhaime says no.

That's obviously possible, it could be very much be that Morhaime was promised to be mostly independant from Activision, which could then slowly but surely turned out to be a lie because they used corporate hierarchy to force certain expectations upon Blizzard.

"Around 2006, Kotick reached out to Jean-Bernard Lévy, the CEO of the French media conglomerate Vivendi. Vivendi at that time had a small games division, Vivendi Games, a holding company principally for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Kotick wanted to get access to Blizzard's World of Warcraft, a successful MMO and suggested a means to acquire this to Lévy. Lévy instead offered that he would be willing to merge Vivendi Games with Activision, but only if Vivendi kept majority control of the merged company. According to those close to Kotick, Kotick was concerned about this offer as it would force him to cede control of Activision. However, after talking to Blizzard's CEO Mike Morhaime, Kotick recognized that Vivendi would be able to give them inroads into the growing video game market in China."
Not only it looks to me that Morhaime was on board with this, but Activision did not buy Blizzard. Instead, Activision merged with Vivendi, and renamed itself "Activision Blizzard", and then later, bought themselves out of Vivendi.

[Kralljin]

Not only it looks to me that Morhaime was on board with this

Did you actually read my post?

I said that's a possibility, but that doesn't mean Morhaime was on board with every decision the company made within the last 10 years.

but Activision did not buy Blizzard.

1. I already addressed this topic in a previous post
2. The very post you're quoting has virtually nothing to do with how the merge went down, so that reply is completely offtopic

Are you just replying for the sake of saying "you're wrong"? Because that's how it feels like.

[Yelmurc]

I hope this works out and in the future are successful enough to buy back all of Blizzards IP

[Ielenia]

Did you actually read my post?

I said that's a possibility, but that doesn't mean Morhaime was on board with every decision the company made within the last 10 years.

1. I already addressed this topic in a previous post
2. The very post you're quoting has virtually nothing to do with how the merge went down, so that reply is completely offtopic

Are you just replying for the sake of saying "you're wrong"? Because that's how it feels like.

Your entire argument, the way I see it, hinges on the idea of "Morhaime can say 'no'" and implying he will say 'no', and using the claim that "he had no say in the Activision-Blizzard merger" as support for your argument that Morhaime would not let his company be bought out by anyone or any other company.

To which I responded by saying that's not how it works. Morhaime can say "yes" just as much as he can say "no". I also pointed out that he's not a "paragon of virtue" to never let his company be bought out. And then we have this where you use his words to back up your argument:

However, you don't need to have psychic powers to read between the lines here, the very name of the company is an indirect signal towards major gaming publishers, which without a doubt also includes Activision.

To which I respond with: how do you know he's not just virtue-signaling?

[Kralljin]

Your entire argument, the way I see it, hinges on the idea of "Morhaime can say 'no'" and implying he will say 'no'

No, i said he can say no, that is not a guarantee that he will say no.
I know the difference between "can" and "will", which you seemingly don't.

I also pointed out that he's not a "paragon of virtue" to never let his company be bought out.

How should he prevent something he has no say in?

You take the fact that Kotick and Morhaime talked to each other as some proof that he somehow approved the whole thing, maybe he was trying to get Blizzard into a better position or whatever.

To which I respond with: how do you know he's not just virtue-signaling?

I could ask you where your certainty comes that he will sell the company if they are successful.

As a reminder, this is your original post.

And if they prove successful, they'll be bought by a bigger company, and the cycle will repeat, ironically enough.

No "he might sell the company", just straight Dreamhaven successful = Morhaime sells the company.

And before you ask me where i get the certainty (Which is a dubious statement at best, as i merely said he has the ability to say "no"), you should explain yours.

[Ielenia]

No, i said he can say no, that is not a guarantee that he will say no.
I know the difference between "can" and "will", which you seemingly don't.

So your argument is meaningless. Because Morhaime can also say "yes". He can also give his new company to EA for free. He can also be a worse leader than Kotick.

How should he prevent something he has no say in?

I never said anything about he "preventing something he has no say in".

You take the fact that Kotick and Morhaime talked to each other as some proof that he somehow approved the whole thing, maybe he was trying to get Blizzard into a better position or whatever.

So, first you say that this is "something he had no say in it", and now you're saying he did have some say in it? What is it? Can't be both.

I could ask you where your certainty comes that he will sell the company if they are successful.

So you're evading the question?

As a reminder, this is your original post.


No "he might sell the company", just straight Dreamhaven successful = Morhaime sells the company.

And before you ask me where i get the certainty (Which is a dubious statement at best, as i merely said he has the ability to say "no"), you should explain yours.

Funny how you accuse me of "not knowing the difference between two terms" and yet you commit the same mistake you accuse me of. I never said "Morhaime sells the company". I said "the company will be bought". Who knows if Morhaime will still be chief by then. And also, my statement is backed by history: all those other game companies and publishers being bought out throughout history. Hell, Microsoft just bought Bethesda and Zenimax.

[Kathranis]

So you were there? You saw every decision he made and therefore have some kind of inside knowledge as to how Blizzard got swallowed by Activision that was a direct result of what Mike did? I mean, the only thing that guy ever truly did (before Activision bought out Blizzard) was try to build the best possible games he could. He did that with Frank and Allen.

It's public record that Morhaime advised Kotick on the merger and used their connections in China to sweeten the deal.

Now, I've heard nothing but nice things said about Mike: he's a good guy, down to earth, cares about games, boosts morale, championed customer support, etc., and I'm sure that's all true. We can only speculate about his intentions for pushing for the merger. Maybe it was naive and short-sighted, maybe not. It certainly happened during a period when Blizzard was attempting to grow beyond the shadow of World of Warcraft and regain the agility needed to keep up with trends rather than play catch up with other studios.

Regardless, the end result is that the Activision board became the controlling interest in Blizzard Entertainment. For a long time Blizzard Entertainment clearly operated with almost total independence, but at this point I think it's hard to deny that Activision has eroded their autonomy over the years. The failure of Project Titan was probably the biggest factor, but frankly, Blizzard has missed many opportunities to capitalize on their IPs, despite having strong (initial) success with the likes of Hearthstone and Overwatch. If you look at the current gaming landscape, they are pretty much getting left in the dust by Riot and Epic. Between that and the loss of some crucial leaders, I just don't think Blizzard has the leverage they once held when it comes to how the company is run.

From the way Morhaime talks in the press release and interviews, it really sounds like he has some regret over that loss of control. Hopefully he doesn't make the same mistake again.

[Kralljin]

He can also give his new company to EA for free. He can also be a worse leader than Kotick.

Is this really an argument i'm supposed to entertain?

I never said anything about he "preventing something he has no say in".

the sentence:

I also pointed out that he's not a "paragon of virtue" to never let his company be bought out.

Implies that you assume he had some sort of choice in the matter, which he quite frankly never had, he could only make the best out of the situation.
If it's not within his power to stop something, you can't really hold it against him that didn't stop that.

Unless you hold it against him that he didn't outright quit, which wouldn't have changed the course of Blizzard in that aspect.

So, first you say that this is "something he had no say in it", and now you're saying he did have some say in it? What is it? Can't be both.

If a major shift in power is about to take place within the company, it's pretty natural that people try to play nice with the new bosses and not make some futile attempt to stonewall them without having any power to actually stop them taking over.

This Business & Politics 1x1, it doesn't mean Morhaime had any power stop or prevent it, he might have tried to make the best out of the situation for Blizzard by trying to get some acknowledgement of independence from Kotick for Blizzard.

After all, Kotick and Co. could've just sold out Blizzard IP's, like they did with other companies they acquired.

I said "the company will be bought". Who knows if Morhaime will still be chief by then.

Seems like a massive fatalist stance, like saying "Who cares about life, i'll die someday anyway".

[Kathranis]

I hope this works out and in the future are successful enough to buy back all of Blizzards IP

Looking at their website, at least for now, it looks like their goal is to stay small and agile, not grow into a big AAA studio.

Of course that could all change the moment they release a hit game, if that's what happens.

[BananaHandsB]

Well he certainly has the PR speech still down, because that is all this amounts to for now and it is an easy sentiment to get positive attention in the gaming space. But I doubt he will be able to make games with just dreams and unicorn farts. .

He co-founded Blizzard and created the most successful MMO of all time with FAR less than he has now lol. He didn't even "unicorn farts" back then. I don't doubt him at all.

[Dhrizzle]

It's public record that Morhaime advised Kotick on the merger and used their connections in China to sweeten the deal.

Now, I've heard nothing but nice things said about Mike: he's a good guy, down to earth, cares about games, boosts morale, championed customer support, etc., and I'm sure that's all true. We can only speculate about his intentions for pushing for the merger. Maybe it was naive and short-sighted, maybe not. It certainly happened during a period when Blizzard was attempting to grow beyond the shadow of World of Warcraft and regain the agility needed to keep up with trends rather than play catch up with other studios.

Regardless, the end result is that the Activision board became the controlling interest in Blizzard Entertainment. For a long time Blizzard Entertainment clearly operated with almost total independence, but at this point I think it's hard to deny that Activision has eroded their autonomy over the years. The failure of Project Titan was probably the biggest factor, but frankly, Blizzard has missed many opportunities to capitalize on their IPs, despite having strong (initial) success with the likes of Hearthstone and Overwatch. If you look at the current gaming landscape, they are pretty much getting left in the dust by Riot and Epic. Between that and the loss of some crucial leaders, I just don't think Blizzard has the leverage they once held when it comes to how the company is run.

From the way Morhaime talks in the press release and interviews, it really sounds like he has some regret over that loss of control. Hopefully he doesn't make the same mistake again.

I keep harping on about this but the big change seemed to come when Acti-Blizz became independent from Vivendi SA. As a parent company Vivendi was huge and quite content to indulge one of their minor components that would regularly shit out golden eggs. As a larger slice of a much smaller pie Blizzard found itself under a lot more pressure from investors expecting steady returns and this seems to be when a more "Activision-like" corporate culture was instilled.