Blizzard Co-Founder Morhaime Quit Due to Activision Interference

Your views about Jason Schreier’s work may vary depending on his reporting style at Bloomberg or previous workplaces, and how they depicted your “beloved firm or game”. Personally, I’ve admired his work for a long period now. As a lover of video game history, I found his book Press Reset incredibly insightful with its depiction of past gaming firms and the remarkable interviews it provided.

On October 8th, a new book from Schreier examining Blizzard will be launched. To spark some anticipation, Schreier shared a short fragmented piece of Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment today.

Although the adapted extract may not surprise you, it makes an interesting read if you’re intrigued about backstage gaming industry “gossip”.

Today’s gossip scrutinizes the relationship between Blizzard’s co-founder, Mike Morhaime and Bobby Kotick, the then CEO of Activision. Schreier recounts their rise in their respective roles, the acquisition of Blizzard by Vivendi, the inception of Activision Blizzard Inc., and concludes with the latest lawsuits and recent exits.

The most fascinating aspect for me is the detailed examination of the connection between Morhaime and Kotick throughout those years. Initially, Blizzard managed to maintain considerable autonomy primarily due to its staggering profits from World of Warcraft. However, this didn’t last forever and Kotick was constantly on the hunt for Blizzard’s “next” WoW. Titan was believed to be the one. Unfortunately, that ended up being a $80 million cancelled project.

While some of the elements of Titan were incorporated into Overwatch, Kotick constantly criticized the decision to cancel it, according to Schreier’s sources. Consequently, Blizzard appointed a CFO to control costs and enhance customer service and cinematic views, influenced by Activision and Kotick. The new managers were skeptical about events like BlizzCon which barely made any profit. Morhaime emphasized loyalty and customer service, but these concepts were foreign to Activision’s leaders.

Despite Morhaime’s continuous efforts to retain some degree of independence and creativity, Activision and Kotick lobbied for the production of games that could possibly be “exploited yearly across all platforms.” Morhaime even sent an email to Kotick stating, ““Preserving Blizzard’s culture and magic is essential for the preservation of Activision Blizzard’s advantage of nurturing an organization that attracts, retains global top creative talent and consistently generates top quality games and experiences. It has increasingly become difficult for me to assure Blizzard’s leadership and staff about its stable future.”

Unfortunately, recovery was not possible. Schreier reveals that Morhaime tried to resign in 2017 but was persuaded by Kotick and others to stay. However, in 2018, Morhaime announced his official exit saying it was time for new leadership.

As per Schreier’s sources, Morhaime’s departure was instigated due to his exhaustion from disagreements with Kotick. A former executive that wished to remain anonymous compared him to a second-term president. If gaming and a bit of drama pique your interest, check out the complete post and consider purchasing the book on October 8th.