David Brevik : Activision taking over Blizzard

[Sentynel]

You forgot the /s

He's been in multiple companies with similar situations to this, I assume he'd know better than a bunch of armchair devs with their fanboy hats on.

He is not part of Blizzard for 15 years now ffs. Fifteen. Fucking. Years. He knows dogshit about today's Blizzard. So as you or me.

[Varitok]

WoW is dead, and the world must never know what was discussed here. Anduin-lame. Island Expeditions- repetitive just like mythic plus but much more poorly executed. The new races are just...random. This plot makes absolutely no sense. It's like a Disney level plot where you choose the more childish Alliance side, or the more mature audience goes to the Horde or vice versa and everyone is still upset and the racials are just recycled to a level where there is no innovation going into the game at all.

I agree but if you think the horde side is "more mature". It's time we have a sit down.

- - - Updated - - -

He is not part of Blizzard for 15 years now ffs. Fifteen. Fucking. Years. He knows dogshit about today's Blizzard. So as you or me.

He knows the industry. Far more than You or me. It doesn't change much from company to company.

[Schattenlied]

Legion and BfA are both great expansions on par with WotLK.

That is entirely opinion, and as far as I'm concerned, an insult to WotLK that you would even consider them being anywhere near the same level. Legion and BFA did well on one front: amount of content, the rest, especially class design (which as far as I'm concerned is the single most important part of the game by an order of magnitude, because those designs dictate how we are able to interact with the entire game), sucked ass.

[mqrtk]

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.

bfa is on par with WoD Twitter Patch

[Bigbazz]

No its not.
if i could retire at 40-50 and live happily i would.
also they havnt retired, they stepped down, chris is still working for blizz voice over, he just didnt want to be a figurhead anymore, and same with morhaime.

Retiring at 40-50 is young, it's young when you're working the kind of position they were in, they aren't cleaning toilets for a living or sitting at a desk doing customer support, they had great careers in enviable positions making a great living. I'm sure someone working at Mcdonalds wishes they could retire at 40-50, but if you have a good job you don't typically want to retire, sometimes not at all.

Mike had a great job, the idea that he has been sidelined and "asked" to move aside isn't unrealistic as it happens all the time.

[xcitng]

You guys need to understand, they didn't replace Mike Morhaime with J. Allen Brack, Brack didn't get the position of CEO.

This guy makes a great point, he took over President of blizzard but not CEO, blizzard no longer having a CEO makes it pretty easy to slide in and take over.

I don't think Mike got pushed out I really do believe after 29 years and being worth 2 billion dollars, he decided to enjoy life a bit more but I think the board seen it at a great opportunity to not make another CEO so they can take over in the future if it turns out to be true.

- - - Updated - - -

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.

BfA is fucking awful, if you like the direction being down.

[Echocho]

Activision: "We want your money"

[Gsara]

The guys worth 2 billion dollars...let that sink in for a second. He wasnt pushed out, he wanted to relax after 30 years being in the industry and he for sure has more than enough money to do so without being pushed out.
Let's also take notes about the how the people running blizzard were and are right on board with activision, it wasnt a hostile takeover or anything. They willingly went into the merger to do exactly what was intended, make a fuck ton of money and that what they did. Nothing wrong with that at all.

[FelPlague]

Retiring at 40-50 is young, it's young when you're working the kind of position they were in, they aren't cleaning toilets for a living or sitting at a desk doing customer support, they had great careers in enviable positions making a great living. I'm sure someone working at Mcdonalds wishes they could retire at 40-50, but if you have a good job you don't typically want to retire, sometimes not at all.

Mike had a great job, the idea that he has been sidelined and "asked" to move aside isn't unrealistic as it happens all the time.

if you have enough money to happily retire at 50, who fucking cares what job you have, also again they are still working, they havnt retired, they still work for blizzard.

[chrisnumbers]

Retiring at 40-50 is young, it's young when you're working the kind of position they were in, they aren't cleaning toilets for a living or sitting at a desk doing customer support

Leaders of companies can retire at that age. No janitor or phone answerer is going to be retiring ever. They'll die of old age first.

[Bigbazz]

if you have enough money to happily retire at 50, who fucking cares what job you have, also again they are still working, they havnt retired, they still work for blizzard.

Doing some occasional voice acting work or sitting as an honorary board member is not the same as still working for Blizzard. You know a voice acting session is like a days work, not only that but Thrall (Metzens main VA work) had barely more than a cameo in Legion and is nowhere to be seen in BFA, talking about them still working for the company because they do some minor stuff is silly.

If you had a full time job and then you switched to going into work a handful of times per year do you think that's the same as still working your job? Also, people don't continue working just for money they do it to keep themselves going, a lot of people ultimately don't function well when they aren't working.

The saying that retirement kills a man is a thing for a reason, it's one thing to retire at 65 but at 45 is another matter.

[Mojo03]

It wouldn't surprise me.

I've been saying the new president is the kind of guy that will just do what he is told and that's why he got picked.

Mike had leverage because he was part of the merger and literally co-founded the company.

New guy is just a pawn to the board.

The company is a full blown corporation now.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Man that's a tinfoil hat not even this den of hatred and paranoia came up with.

If Activision was taking total control over Blizzard why is Brack now President instead of Kotik?

[shadowmatrix]

Activision: "We want your money"

You just described 100% of all for profit companies.

[bluspacecow]

That said... He has been separate from Blizzard for FIFTEEN YEARS. His opinion on Blizzard and Activision is nearly as useful as anyone elses.

Wait , wait wait wait.

The Activision Blizzard merger was in 2008 was it not ? Five years after Brevik left Blizzard in 2003.

So how the heck does David Brevik know about any of the details of the Activision / Vivendi games merger ? Clue : he doesn't.

[Nnyco]

that guy in the clip forgot to wear his tinfoil hat, what a silly misstake

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Wait , wait wait wait.

The Activision Blizzard merger was in 2008 was it not ? Five years after Brevik left Blizzard in 2003.

So how the heck does David Brevik know about any of the details of the Activision / Vivendi games merger ? Clue : he doesn't.

Shh don't bring logic and facts into this. The people who want to believe Brack is going to triple down on Azerite and cancel Classic might realize they're getting worked up over nothing.

[TheFirstOnes]

...

Sargeras did NOTHING wrong!

[FelPlague]

Doing some occasional voice acting work or sitting as an honorary board member is not the same as still working for Blizzard. You know a voice acting session is like a days work, not only that but Thrall (Metzens main VA work) had barely more than a cameo in Legion and is nowhere to be seen in BFA, talking about them still working for the company because they do some minor stuff is silly.

If you had a full time job and then you switched to going into work a handful of times per year do you think that's the same as still working your job? Also, people don't continue working just for money they do it to keep themselves going, a lot of people ultimately don't function well when they aren't working.

The saying that retirement kills a man is a thing for a reason, it's one thing to retire at 65 but at 45 is another matter.

Grandfather retired at 54, he is now in his 90's he is happy as ever, working an hour every few days on a few things like making a firewood holder, asking me to help when i can as im the only family still near town.
he has been very happy, so has my grandma who has been retired for 28 years now.

- - - Updated - - -

Wait , wait wait wait.

The Activision Blizzard merger was in 2008 was it not ? Five years after Brevik left Blizzard in 2003.

So how the heck does David Brevik know about any of the details of the Activision / Vivendi games merger ? Clue : he doesn't.

Shhhh this is MMOChamp, no logic allowed!

[bluspacecow]

But seriously, Brevik has been gone a long time, but I would suspect he still has quite a few friends within Blizzard he talks to. Just remember how much backlash a Dev got for saying "fuck that guy" from People within Blizzard itself.

Any conversation regarding Activision "taking over" Blizzard would be under confidentiality agreements.

- - - Updated - - -

Alright sat down to go through the stream this appeared on and this is what I have so far -

3:26:15

W = David's partner , I assume is his wife
D= David

W"Did you guys talk about the Blizzard thing"
D"We Did"
D"Nobody had inside information"
W"Well you don't either right"
D"Sure"
D"Is that how we're framing it?"
W"Well do you have inside information?"
D"I can't tell you anything but I do have inside information"
W"Did you tell them that?"
D"Tell whom?"
W"Max and Eric!"
W"Who else was there"
D"DG and DB"
W"DG .. and DB... so many Davids"
D"There were 5 people in the group , 3 of them were named David B"

3:31:26

W"What's the Blizzard thing ... Mike Morhaime Stepped down .. yes" (reading off comments)
D"I highly suspect , altough I have no insider knowledge , no factual knowledge that Morhaime ... was let go"
D"Today or Yesterday they announced a change to the Blizzard profit sharing program in that it's gone
and so I would suspect given that Morhaime resigned a couple of days ago , they resigned over this"
D"There's public knowledge that the employees of Blizzard are not going to make as much money.
A lot less money , then before. Blizzard employees on the whole were paid below market salaries because they had a
bonus program that afforded them the ability to make up for it. A lot of people made decent money through this bonus program.
D"But Today or Yesterday they announced that that program is gone. So now all the Blizzard employees are now making shitty money , worse then they did by a long shot"
D"A lot of Blizzard employees made double what they normally did via the bonus program. So removing that they make a lot less money so therefore I predict that we will see a mass exodus from Blizzard"


[Apologies but my internet went a bit funny at the 3:34:40 mark. For context purposes David asks for entry-level stuff / designers / new gaming employees why would they want to work for Blizzard given you'll be paid below market rate and that you won't get notoriety]

3:35:15

D"What would be the incentive to work there?"
W"Well It's still Blizzard though"
D"It's Blizzard for another 3 weeks"
W"No my point is -"
D"I'm telling you 3 years from now , Blizzard - In fact I don't even think that Blizzard today is what Blizzard used to be"
D"But Blizzard 3 years from now would even be Blizzard today"
W"It's going to be Activision"
D"Yeah of course. Activision is taking over. Activision is winning at this slow game. Activision is exiling all of the Blizzard executives"
W"We don't know for sure.Well we think maybe"
D"Sure seems that way"