Expanding the Development Pipeline of World of Warcraft Bluepost

Blizzard Publié 01/07/2022 à 08:34 par Archimtiros

Blizzard Entertainment had acquired the Spellbreak development studio Proletariatfuture of World of Warcraft content development

John Hight, General Manager of Warcraft

Hello, World of Warcraft community!

We know that you are hungry for new content and I’m really proud of how our development teams are working to meet or exceed those expectations – there’s more happening in WoW than ever, and this is just the beginning.

To help support our increased content needs, since May, we’ve been working with a great development partner, Proletariat. Proletariat was founded in 2012 by industry veterans from Turbine, Harmonix, Zynga and Insomniac. Their strong leadership team has a long history of working together, deep MMO experience working on Asheron’s Call, Lord of the Rings Online and D&D Online, and a strong presence in Boston, where they’re based.

Our work with the Proletariat team has been going well. Today we are excited to announce that Blizzard has closed the acquisition of Proletariat—something we’ve been working on for a while.

Together, our teams will expand our development pipeline for WoW. Our plan is to continue growing both our Irvine- and Boston-based teams, with shared creative leadership providing feedback to ensure we continue to meet or exceed players’ – and our – quality and delivery expectations. The addition of Proletariat brings 100 talented Blizzard employees to this newest Blizzard Entertainment Studio.

Proletariat’s transition to becoming part of Blizzard will take several months, and we look forward to all the ways our combined strength will help us meet our goals, help our teams, and better serve you.

Please join us in welcoming Proletariat to Blizzard! They are very much looking forward to working alongside the community to continue to build the future of World of Warcraft.

You can find the full press release on the announcement here.

official announcement on Business Wire

Blizzard Entertainment today closed the acquisition of Boston-based studio Proletariat to better serve players in the award-winning massive multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft®.

"Over the next two years we plan to hire hundreds of the best developers to serve the needs of our World of Warcraft players. The extraordinary team at Proletariat will be a key component of our talent acquisition efforts,” said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard.

“We are putting players at the forefront of everything we do, and we are working hard to both meet and exceed their expectations,” said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “A critical part of taking care of players is taking care of our teams—making sure we have the resources to produce experiences our communities will love while giving our teams space to explore even more creative opportunities within their projects. Proletariat is a perfect fit for supporting Blizzard’s mission in bringing high-quality content to our players more often.”

“We are incredibly excited to be joining Blizzard Entertainment,” said Proletariat co-founder and CEO, Seth Sivak. “Our team has always strived to put players first, and in working with the World of Warcraft team, we have learned that we are completely aligned in our commitments to innovation, quality, investing in our talent, authentic communication, and representation—both in and out of the games we make. World of Warcraft is one of the most influential games ever made and we can’t wait to be a part of that legacy and to help build an even brighter future for Azeroth.”

“We are proud to be working with Proletariat as we further expand our development team and build towards welcoming more players into the Warcraft universe,” said John Hight, general manager of the Warcraft franchise. “We’ve been listening to our community and making great changes to World of Warcraft based on their feedback—bringing the talented Proletariat team into the fold allows us to explore even more ways we can surprise and delight players who call Azeroth home.”

Proletariat was founded in 2012 by industry veterans from Insomniac, Harmonix, and Turbine. The team has deep experience building MMORPGs and includes, among others, former lead designers of AsheroAsheron’s Call, Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online. At Proletariat, the team has operated live games for nearly a decade, having most recently released the critically-acclaimed cross-platform action-spellcasting battle royale game, Spellbreak. The studio has a strong presence in Boston.

Proletariat began working with the World of Warcraft development team in May and will be fully integrated into Blizzard Entertainment over the coming months. The addition of Proletariat is another exciting step in Blizzard Entertainment’s mission to support their talented teams creatively and culturally while building AAA gaming experiences across their iconic franchises.

issued his own statement

Seth Sivak, CEO of Proletariat Inc.

Today Proletariat enters an exciting new chapter as we (officially!) join forces with Blizzard Entertainment. Since founding our studio almost a decade ago, our future has never looked so bright. We will be able to dream bigger and do even more for our team, our players, our industry, and our community.

There are two reasons I am excited for the next chapter. The first is legacy. Blizzard is an exceptional game studio, home to some of the most talented people I have ever met. People who transformed the medium and brought audiences together in ways never before possible. For nearly two decades, World of Warcraft has defined a genre and continues to set the bar for incredible player experiences. I can’t wait to start working on this franchise that so deeply aligns with our Proletariat DNA: enabling social experiences through multiplayer games in fantastical worlds.

The second reason I am excited is the opportunity to help create, foster, and grow something amazing. As part of the World of Warcraft team, we will be able to expand the beloved world of Azeroth. We will help write new stories and deliver amazing new experiences for both current and future players. We will help grow the Blizzard organization and continue to build a diverse, caring, studio from our hub on the East Coast. We will continue to be a place where developers can do their best work and build the careers of their dreams.

From our first mobile games (Hug the Sloth, Letter Rush, and World Zombination), through the games meant to be played on Twitch (Streamline, Stream Legends, and the Streamote), to Spellbreak, we’ve always strived to do right by our games, our players, and our team. We expect to bring our passionate commitment to those very same things to our new home at Blizzard.

I am enormously grateful to our players, team, investors, advisors, friends, and families for helping us reach this major milestone. Without the support of the Proletariat team and the incredible studio we have built together, this would not have been possible. There are many more great worlds to build and stories to tell and I can’t wait to do it with all of you.

As part of this, we’re growing! If you want to join a team that is ambitious, caring, and excited about the future, be sure to apply. The best is yet to come.

Thanks
Seth Sivak
CEO, Proletariat Inc.

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