Former Blizzard Leaders Start Magic Soup Games Studio

[MoanaLisa]

Well, the best that can be said for it is that it's yet another offshoot game studio from former Blizzard executives.

Just to remind everyone, these are mostly the same people that when they left (or were fired) spelled doom in capital letters for Blizzard (according to us). Most of them haven't amounted to much since which pretty much disputes the idea that Blizzard couldn't survive without them.

I wish Jen and JAB luck and we'll know if this is another flameout in a year or so.

P.S. Lots of little boys in this thread that apparently can't stand the idea of someone making games without them specifically in mind.

[Sorshen]

Ah yes, DOA because of the extremely controversial idea that we should treat humans equally and respectfully.

J. Allen Brack, known for these things.

I'll be honest, people don't have much faith in these offshots cause all they do is start with 'we worked at blizzard' as if we can trace the good stuff that blizzard once put out back to them, and then they go off on a vibe tangent that has nothing to do with the industry. And (except Brode) they never deliver.

[Relapses]

Well, the best that can be said for it is that it's yet another offshoot game studio from former Blizzard executives.

Just to remind everyone, these are mostly the same people that when they left (or were fired) spelled doom in capital letters for Blizzard (according to us). None of them have amounted to much since which pretty much disputes the idea that Blizzard couldn't survive without them.

I wish Jen and JAB luck and we'll know if this is another flameout in a year or so.

I'll be honest, I'm fully in support of the values they're committing to here but the cynic in me cannot help but feel like this is a roundabout way for these people to inject some of that juicy SoCal VC into their pockets now that they've left Blizzard. In the meantime they'll throw together proof they're working on a vague project to "revolutionize gaming" which eventually either gets unceremoniously shitcanned shortly before the studio goes tits up or lives in development hell for a decade before they get reacquired by another larger company (ironically, probably Blizzard).

[Laqweeta]

hahahahahahahhahahaaaaaaahahahahahahahhahahahaha

Ahem...

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA

[Jester Joe]

J. Allen Brack, known for these things.

People can, and do, change ya know.

And maybe I'm misremembering, but I'm pretty sure Bracks biggest offense was inaction, which isn't good at all but it's possible to learn from.

I mean, look at Jeff Kaplan, went from being infamous for his rage on the EverQuest forums to being one of the most down to earth developers that gave Ben Brode a run for his money with how much the fans loved him.

[Enter Name Here]

heh, MSG... cooking pun

[Relapses]

J. Allen Brack, known for these things.

I'll be honest, people don't have much faith in these offshots cause all they do is start with 'we worked at blizzard' as if we can trace the good stuff that blizzard once put out back to them, and then they go off on a vibe tangent that has nothing to do with the industry. And (except Brode) they never deliver.

I'm with you. I don't particularly care for the Brackmesiter myself nor do I feel like this studio is much different than any of the other ex-Blizzard ventures. I quoted that guy because he seemed to imply DE&I endeavors are pointless. (They're not.)

[MoanaLisa]

I'll be honest, I'm fully in support of the values they're committing to here but the cynic in me cannot help but feel like this is a roundabout way for these people to inject some of that juicy SoCal VC into their pockets now that they've left Blizzard. In the meantime they'll throw together proof they're working on a vague project to "revolutionize gaming" which eventually either gets unceremoniously shitcanned shortly before the studio goes tits up or lives in development hell for a decade before they get reacquired by another larger company (ironically, probably Blizzard).

My simple theory is that you hire the best people that can execute the vision you have paying no attention whatsoever to the color or their skin or how their genitalia are arranged. Eventually there's a product. I tend to view their mission statement as a simple defense of "We are not going to tolerate Blizzard's former culture" even though Brack was largely responsible for allowing that to run on so long they got sued. Jen can run the company just fine. Brack can work on development/production and theoretically it can work. They may do quite well if O'Neal is as good an executive as I think she might be. She has something to prove and the more she can throw it in Ybarra's and Blizzard's face the more that should drive her along.

It's been pretty remarkable (to me) how little these former "Titans of Blizzard" have actually accomplished since they left.

[enigma77]

Robbing you blind? Jesus, take even the smallest amount of responsibility for your own actions.

"Yes, hello, I'd like to buy this video game, entirely of my own accord, with no pressure, because I want to play it."
"Okay."
"WOW, HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?!"

The fucking victim complexes people harbor.

I was talking about huge corporations and billionaires paying less in taxes than working people..

[Xilurm]

Why not join Mike's studio? Or the other one that ex-blizz devs made?

AAA games take 5 years to make at least, that is if you even have a team of devs, which they do not. Not to mention they want to make a game that doesn't have a genre yet. Damn, pretty ambitious. Why not just start with something simple?

[Nynax]

I guess they were leaving toward "ending toxicity." In Overwatch the only real way to be toxic is talking in chat, griefing, or skill diff. If the game is multiplayer there will always be skill diff or griefing. But how do you add a way for people to communicate without being rude or offensive? Especially when most people use voice comms that aren't connected to the game anyway.

This thought, taken beyond just gaming, it's amazing how many people want "forced ideal behavior" from both sides of the isle, in this so called Land of the Free. People that want so badly to control for allowing only their idea of "sensible" behavior while all else is either censored or punished with impunity.

[lasheric]

The fact that they started with a rainbow picture does not make me very hopeful of this new companies priorities.

[Caprias]

Ah yes, DOA because of the extremely controversial idea that we should treat humans equally and respectfully.

This should be a given (yes sadly it's not in the industry) and it's good go talk about, however if you want to introduce your new game studio maybe the main focus should be well.. games, your future product.

Maybe there where other articles before this one I didn't catch but if this is their initial introduction it just reads like pandering and a pr for them as persons.

[ONCHEhap]

At this rate we'll end up with more studios founded by ex-blizzard employees than there are employees at blizzard.

Not complaining though, more companies making games still means more games being made, and therefore more chances of one of them being good

[McNeil]

Oh hey, we hear something from Brack again. Nothing good came out of him while working at Blizzard, nothing good came out of him before working at Blizzard, nothing good will come out of him after working at Blizzard. Out of all the new ex-Blizzard game studios I wish him the most of luck because he sure needs it.

[Aerisot]

Nice, another game studio that we will not hear anything about.

[Magemaer]

Another legendary POOP TIER ex-blizz dev builds another company that will fail.

Wasn't it Jay "fuck that loser" Wilson a few days ago?

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Why not join Mike's studio? Or the other one that ex-blizz devs made?

AAA games take 5 years to make at least, that is if you even have a team of devs, which they do not. Not to mention they want to make a game that doesn't have a genre yet. Damn, pretty ambitious. Why not just start with something simple?

Prob because Mike's studio has standards? No one want a bad dev with a bad attitude like Allen Brack. He stayed in power for so long because he's actually very good at anus-licking his superiors, such as everyone's beloved Bob

[Xilurm]

This should be a given (yes sadly it's not in the industry) and it's good go talk about, however if you want to introduce your new game studio maybe the main focus should be well.. games, your future product.

Maybe there where other articles before this one I didn't catch but if this is their initial introduction it just reads like pandering and a pr for them as persons.

Don't you think this is exactly why they're doing it?

It should be a given people should be treated equally and fairly. They aren't targeting gamers or even employees when they say stuff like this. They are targeting potential investors and supporters. It's political, 100%.

Yes yes, you say you're going to treat people fairly and equally but that doesn't mean anything and it also doesn't stop you from treating your employees like dog shit. It means absolutely nothing.

Most if not all companies who say this stuff don't actually do it. So it's complete bs. This is why people find this annoying. It's just fake PR, nothing else.

- - - Updated - - -

Prob because Mike's studio has standards? No one want a bad dev with a bad attitude like Allen Brack. He stayed in power for so long because he's actually very good at anus-licking his superiors, such as everyone's beloved Bob

Maybe. Hopefully.

One thing that makes me more curious to see what Mike's studio is doing because of the reason they mentioned they made that studio in the first place. It wasn't political PR or anything, like this one is. Instead they said they want to make a studio where they ain't held back by management and are free to create whatever they want.

[Chilela]

Just like most former-Blizz dev companies, I can't say I'm really expecting much of anything out of this. The onus is on them to prove me wrong, but the odds really aren't in their favor.

[Tiwack]

Glad someone's doing it, wouldn't be surprised if they come up with something amazing, that if not gamechanging, still ends up making actiblizz want to buy em back into the fold. This is like the only way for seasoned employees to get what they're owed in the end in this industry.