J. Allen Brack's Internal Email, Warcraft III: Reforged Production Backstory

[crusadernero]

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Blizzard is not what it once was, maybe(by the looks of it) it never was what I thought it was. They used to produce great games, in great universes. It also seemed they were filled with great people, and now all of that unravels.

Diablo, Warcraft, wow, Starcraft.. All games that was and is a part of myself since I was a kid. It was especially a big part of my childhood/early grown up years, and it actually hurts reading all of this. It feels all wasted and tainted in a way.

I actually did sub back for 9.1, before this news broke out. I decided to give it a shot and it was OKish for a couple of days. But soon enough, it was back to.. nothing. Then this. I cant see Blizzard ever coming back from this untop of all the other problems they have. All of the beloved IPs from Blizzard is nothing but a shell and the best we can hope for are remakes like BC, Wrath and Diablo 2.

Whats going to happen with 9.2? Whats going to happen with the next xpac? I cant see the current leaders at Blizzard sitting safe this time and it will hurt the production line. And more importantly - why did the leaders of Blizzard let this go on for years? I mean, this is some sick shit.

Today I uninstalled all of my Blizzard games and have called it quits, atleast for now. Its weird, but it does infact hurt doing so.

[Zaqwert]

"Stepping back - when I talked with Bobby about taking this job, one of the first things I mentioned was a revered saint of the Brack household - Gloria Steinem. "

God this is just pathetic.

[Koward]

"Stepping back - when I talked with Bobby about taking this job, one of the first things I mentioned was a revered saint of the Brack household - Gloria Steinem. "

God this is just pathetic.

It does sound like something you'd hear in a South Park dialogue.

[Thelxi]

Quite the contrast there lol.

[xdunpealx]

so they are going to make people watch CRT videos, and punish the good employees. Sounds about right for a company.

[Kolvarg]

It does sound like something you'd hear in a South Park dialogue.

Yea.. a more generic statement about believing in feminist ideals could at least potentially sound believable, "revered saint of the Brack household" sounds to be something out of a sitcom.

[RoKPaNda]

Wonder if Blizz is just going to clean house and fire Brack/Ion/Danuser and start over.

Why Ion? Was he named in anything or is it just a general dislike of him? Brack certainly, and Danuser I honestly wouldn't be surprised. But why Ion? Or is it just one of those don't him so want him to go things? I mean I don't like Danuser, but if he's not guilty of anything I don't want him to just get fired.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Blizzard is not what it once was, maybe(by the looks of it) it never was what I thought it was. They used to produce great games, in great universes. It also seemed they were filled with great people, and now all of that unravels.

Diablo, Warcraft, wow, Starcraft.. All games that was and is a part of myself since I was a kid. It was especially a big part of my childhood/early grown up years, and it actually hurts reading all of this. It feels all wasted and tainted in a way.

I actually did sub back for 9.1, before this news broke out. I decided to give it a shot and it was OKish for a couple of days. But soon enough, it was back to.. nothing. Then this. I cant see Blizzard ever coming back from this untop of all the other problems they have. All of the beloved IPs from Blizzard is nothing but a shell and the best we can hope for are remakes like BC, Wrath and Diablo 2.

Whats going to happen with 9.2? Whats going to happen with the next xpac? I cant see the current leaders at Blizzard sitting safe this time and it will hurt the production line. And more importantly - why did the leaders of Blizzard let this go on for years? I mean, this is some sick shit.

Today I uninstalled all of my Blizzard games and have called it quits, atleast for now. Its weird, but it does infact hurt doing so.

"But how can I make this about me?" That's what I think when I read posts like this. If you really feel like stopping playing games that you've already paid for is going to help, I mean go for it but I disagree. If you think canceling your WoW sub is going to help, go for it, but I don't think it sends the message that you want it to, and it's going to hurt the average employees who are the victims here more than it's going to hurt any of the people at the top. I'm not telling you how to direct your morals, if you feel like quitting is the best way to send your message then go for it, I'm just saying that I personally disagree. For me, I'm not doing that. I'm encouraging them to change, I'm encouraging them to fire the abusers and fix the glaring issues, and I'm personally hoping that they also get the shit fined out of them. For me, personally, I think that swapping them out for some other Dev is just swapping a company that got caught for one that hasn't gotten caught yet because this kind of thing is rampant in the gaming and other tech industries sadly.

I also disagree about Blizzard not being what it once was because as was pointed out some of these allegations are from more than a decade ago. This is what Blizzard always was, and the problem with Blizzard quality is that Blizzard didn't change. It's the same Blizzard that releases games that are broken and imbalanced and does hamfisted fixes that they were back in the WarCraft 3 days, or the Original WoW days, or StarCraft even. The only difference is that now they actually have decent competition in areas where they used to be dominant and so the sloppiness of Blizzard's approach to a lot of things is just glaring. PoE for example really shone a bright light on the flaws of D3, there have been a couple MMOs that have shown that WoW could definitely be better, Riot (and Valve I guess) outdid them in the MOBA market, and the RTS genre just kind of died.

Instead of just copying successful features from other games they should have copied better content release cycles. :P Hopefully what comes from this is new better management and a better healthier workplace and a metric fuckton of fines.

[HateTrain]

WOW, that Gloria Steinem bit...jezzus. I'd bet on the exiting of at least JAB, if not the bulk of the current leadership in a house cleaning. Maybe that's all for the best in the long run.

[Wyattbw09]

They are so full of shit

[korijenkins]

All they do nowadays is pander while not having any of the values they claim to live by.

That's the corporate motto.

Film studios are one of the worst examples. Castings and recastings for the sake of diversity all the while treating their employees like absolute trash, denying maternity leave to women, etc.

[dope_danny]

so first these were "groundless accusations" but not one day later Bracks getting his UwU softboy nonpology on saying its "disturbing events"?

Who the fuck is stupid enough to fall for this?

[Wyattbw09]

It’s so pathetic, they are calling these women liars, and it’s a lot of people. They are proving the point of their accusers by the way they are defending themselves.

[woopytywoop]

so they are going to make people watch CRT videos, and punish the good employees. Sounds about right for a company.

What does CRT have to do with this? And in what way are the good employees punished?

I don't understand, please explain.

[Kumorii]

so first these were "groundless accusations" but not one day later Bracks getting his UwU softboy nonpology on saying its "disturbing events"?

Who the fuck is stupid enough to fall for this?

I think it's more about, who is stupid enough to expect an response from a company about things like this. I can't say i recall once when a company came out with an apology letter it was accepted and only met with "it's all BS". Which it is...however if they don't, the companies get more flack for being quiet.
So essentially, as I see it, consumers and the public expect this BS and if they don't deliver the BS they are outraged for not receiving the BS.

I find it quite odd tbh...

[Nagawithlegs]

Why Ion? Was he named in anything or is it just a general dislike of him? Brack certainly, and Danuser I honestly wouldn't be surprised. But why Ion? Or is it just one of those don't him so want him to go things? I mean I don't like Danuser, but if he's not guilty of anything I don't want him to just get fired.

Ion and Danuser haven't done anything to get sued/fired over but I can see them being scapegoats that go with JAB's firing if they want to do a clear reset of management heads for a better image. The community doesn't like them and blames them for most of the game's current issues.

[Tyris Flare]

Ion hasn't been implicated and firing him would be incredibly stupid. The community can blame him all they like, he will instantly get a job (probably with better pay) at Riot or many other gaming studios.

Brack is the one with his head on the chopping block, imo.

[Video Games]

"DUDE WE LOVE FEMINISM! Anyway most of it isn't true but is and we're sorry but not really though and won't happen again"

[Talrath]

wait wait, he knew about this for a long time, so now he says that others should behave?! mate, you goofed also, there should be some accountability to you aswell. This mail is also very corporate like, come on cant you even write your own mail that has atleast some emotion, do you have any emotion???

[Lupinemancer]

So, when are they planning on:
A: Fix WC3 Reforged.
B: Refund the many people who payed for not only this new one, but the original one who got their bought product stolen from them.

[Holdodlig]

They knew about the investigation, so he knew. He also knew his message would leak, he's probably the one who leaked this btw.

Just seems like bullshit to me, but at least he's acting as if he was truely concerned by the issue.