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Blizzard Entertainment is one of the computer game industry's most successful development studios. Originally founded in 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse, they were closely associated with Interplay Entertainment in their early years, producing ports of sundry Interplay games as well as several original titles developed primarily for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. After initially renaming themselves Chaos Studios, before soon after changing once more to their current name, Blizzard moved to developing computer games. In 1994, the studio released a Real-Time Strategy game called Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. The rest, as they clichédly say, is history.
After the name change, the studio has made very few games, but the ones that are published are usually very high-quality and instant best-sellers. Many attribute the success of Blizzard games to their "easy to learn, difficult to master" philosophy, which results in games that are simple and intuitive enough to appeal to casual gamers while also having enough depth and complexity to attract hardcore and professional gamers. Warcraft 1 was followed by Warcraft 2, the studio's first Game of the Year, which led to StarCraft, the most popular RTS ever. Diablo and its sequel created their own genre of Hack and Slash RPGs and Warcraft III was a breakthrough in strategy game storytelling. And then there is World of Warcraft...
For a time, the company focused on three franchises: Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. At BlizzCon 2014, they announced Overwatch, a Pixar-esque multiplayer team-based shooter game, and their first new IP (that is, not based on a previous source) in nearly two decades.
Since 2007, Blizzard is a part of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, which was then bought out by Microsoft in 2023.
Staff
Games, expansion packs and major patches by Blizzard
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Classics
- RPM Racing (1991)
- The Lost Vikings (1992)
- Rock n' Roll Racing (1993)
- Blackthorne (1994)
- The Death and Return of Superman (1994). Co-developed with Sunsoft.
- Justice League Task Force (1995). Co-developed with Sunsoft.
- The Lost Vikings II (1997). SNES version only.
- Blizzard Arcade Collection (2021). Includes The Lost Vikings, Rock N' Roll Racing and Blackthorne. Later RPM Racing and The Lost Vikings II were added.
Warcraft
- Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (1994)
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995)
- Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal (1996)
- Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition (1999)
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)
- Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003)
- Warcraft III: Reforged (2020)
- Warcraft Rumble (2023)
Diablo
- Diablo:
- Diablo (1997)
- Diablo II (2000)
- Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (2001)
- Diablo II: Resurrected (2021)
- Diablo III (2012)
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (2014)
- Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer (2017)
- Diablo: Immortal (2022)
- Diablo IV (2023)
- Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (2024)
StarCraft
- StarCraft:
- StarCraft (1998)
- StarCraft: Brood War (1998)
- StarCraft: Remastered (2017)
- StarCraft II: (2010-2020)
- StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (2010)
- StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013)
- StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (2015)
- StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops (2016)
- StarCraft (1998)
World of Warcraft
- World of Warcraft (2004-2007, Re-Released as World of Warcraft: Classic in 2019) note
- Assault on Blackwing Lair
- Rise of the Blood God
- The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj
- Shadow of the Necropolis
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (2007-2008, Re-Released as Classic in 2021)
- Black Temple
- The Gods of Zul'Aman
- Fury of the Sunwell
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (2008-2010, Re-Released as Classic in 2022)
- Secrets of Ulduar
- Call of the Crusade
- Fall of the Lich King
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (2010-2012, Re-Released as Classic in 2024)
- Rise of the Zandalari
- Rage of the Firelands
- Hour of Twilight
- World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (2012-2014)
- Landfall
- The Thunder King
- Escalation
- Siege of Orgrimmar
- World of Warcraft: Warlords Of Draenor (2014-2016)
- Fury of Hellfire
- World of Warcraft: Legion (2016-2018)
- Return to Karazhan
- The Tomb of Sargeras
- Shadows of Argus
- World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth (2018-2020)
- Tides of Vengeance
- Rise of Azshara
- Visions of N'Zoth
- World of Warcraft: Shadowlands (2020-2022)
- Chains of Domination (2021)
- Eternity's End (2022)
- World of Warcraft: Dragonflight (2022-2024)
- Return to the Forbidden Reach (2023)
- Embers of Neltharion (2023)
- Fractures in Time (2023)
- Fury Incarnate (2023)
- Guardians of the Dream (2023)
- Seeds of Renewal (2024)
- World of Warcraft: The War Within (2024-)
- World of Warcraft: Midnight (TBA)
- World of Warcraft: The Last Titan (TBA)
Hearthstone
- Hearthstone (2013)
- Pre-Standard (2014-2015)
- Curse of Naxxramas, Goblins vs. Gnomes, Blackrock Mountain, The Grand Tournament, The League of Explorers
- Year of the Kraken (2016)
- Whispers of the Old Gods, One Night in Karazhan, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
- Year of the Mammoth (2017)
- Journey to Un'Goro, Knights of the Frozen Throne, Kobolds and Catacombs
- Year of the Raven (2018)
- The Witchwood, The Boomsday Project, Rastakhan’s Rumble
- Year of the Dragon (2019-2020)
- Rise of Shadows, Saviors of Uldum, Descent of Dragons, Galakrond's Awakening
- Year of the Phoenix (2020-2021)
- Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, Darkmoon Races
- Year of the Gryphon (2021-2022)
- Forged in the Barrens, Wailing Caverns, United in Stormwind, The Deadmines, Fractured in Alterac Valley, Onyxia's Lair
- Year of the Hydra (2022-2023)
- Voyage to the Sunken City, Throne of the Tides, Murder at Castle Nathria, Maw and Disorder, March of the Lich King, Return to Naxxramas
- Year of the Wolf (2023-2024)
- Festival of Legends, Audiopocalypse, TITANS, Fall of Ulduar, Caverns of Time, Showdown in the Badlands, Delve into Deepholm
- Year of the Pegasus (2024-2025)
- Whizbang's Workshop
- Pre-Standard (2014-2015)
Heroes of the Storm
- Heroes of the Storm (2015-2022)
- Content patches
- The Eternal Conflict (2015)
- The Machines of War (2016)
- Heroes 2.0 (2017)
- Hanamura Showdown (2017)
- Call of Kel'Thuzad (2017)
- Assault on Volskaya Foundry (2017)
- Dragons of the Nexus (2017)
- Heroes of S.T.O.R.M. (2018)
- MechaStorm (2018)
- The Dark Nexus (2018)
- Echoes of Alterac (2018)
- Raiders of Warchrome (2018)
- Viper Ascendant (2018)
- Join the Resistance! (2019)
- Altered Fates (2020)
- Overwatch Cosplay (2021)
- Seasonal events
- Spring: Lunar New Year (2015-18) The Caldeum Complex (2019), Dark Nexus II (2020)
- Summer: Sun's Out, Guns Out (2017), Nexomania! (2018, 2020), MechaStorm II (2019)
- Fall: Hallow's End (2015-17), Fall of King's Crest (2018), The Scarlet Heist (2019), CraftWars (2020)
- Winter: Winter Veil (2015-17), Toys, Toys, Toys! (2018-19)
- Content patches
Overwatch
- Overwatch (2016-2022)
- Holiday Events
- Summer Games (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
- Halloween Terror (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
- Winter Wonderland (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
- Year of the Rooster (2017), Year of the Dog (2018), Year of the Pig (2019), Year of the Rat (2020), Year of the Ox (2021), Year of the Tiger (2022)
- Anniversary (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
- Anniversary Remix (2022)
- Lore Events (Archives 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
- Uprising (2017), Retribution (2018), Storm Rising (2019)
- Holiday Events
- Overwatch 2 (2022)
Others
- Warcraft (2016 film)
Tropes that apply to Blizzard and its games:
- April Fools' Day: Blizzard makes it a tradition to release some preposterously bogus info on their new games during April Fools Day.
- Subverted when one of the jokes was about a new hero unit for Warcraft III, The Goblin Tinker. Even though it was a joke, they added the hero to the game anyway some months after.
- That was in addition to another joke about playable two-headed ogres in World of Warcraft, with some hints given that one of the two jokes was serious. Many years later, the concept stated in the joke (two players playing a single character) actually existed for the character Cho'Gall in Heroes of the Storm.
- The Pandaren race was also first revealed in one of these that announced it as a Warcraft III faction. They would later get a hero in the game's expansion, before finally becoming a playable race in World of Warcraft a decade later.
- Subverted when one of the jokes was about a new hero unit for Warcraft III, The Goblin Tinker. Even though it was a joke, they added the hero to the game anyway some months after.
- Baa-Bomb: Exploding critters are a given in any Blizzard game.
- Borrowing from the Sister Series: A recursive example when it comes to Hero Units. While they existed in its earliest games (Warcraft and StarCraft I), they were merely more powerful versions of a common unit and very rarely had unique sprites. Come Warcraft III, heroes really came into their own, with each having distinctive abilities and appearances that came to dominate gameplay. Their success led the inclusion of Warcraft-style hero units in Starcraft II (while still including the classic "enhanced basic unit" style heroes in the campaign as well).
- Brought Down to Normal: If a good character has superhuman powers in Blizzard's works, they will often give up those powers.
- At the end of the night elf campaign in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, the night elves have to destroy their World Tree, Nordrassil, in order to defeat Archimonde, which robs the night elves of their immortality. This gets fixed later in World of Warcraft.
- At the end of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the dragon aspects have to give up their titan-given powers in order to defeat Deathwing.
- At the beginning of Diablo III, Archangel Tyrael willingly gives up his angelic powers and becomes a human to express his disagreement with the Angiris Council.
- In StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, the entire protoss race has to cut their nerve cords in order to escape Amon's influence, thus permanently severing their connection with the Khala, the protoss collective consciousness. Late in the campaign, Artanis even says that the protoss don't just need to sever their nerve cords because of Amon's threat, but because the Khala itself is somehow a "lie".
- In World of Warcraft: Legion, First Arcanist Thalyssra has to decide the fate of the Nightwell after Grand Magistrix Elisande is defeated. She decides that the Nightwell's powers are too dangerous, and agrees to have the Eye of Aman'Thul, the titan artifact that powered the Nightwell, removed.
- Company Cross References:
- Marines and Hydralisks are seen battling each other in the end credits of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.
- Wirt's Third Leg is a weapon in World of Warcraft.
- There are Diablo, Tyrael and Zergling battle pets in World of Warcraft.
- In World of Warcraft, since the Cataclysm expansion, there's a questline at the Badlands where the player is helped by three Dwarven NPCs named Erik, Baleog and Olaf.
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is advertised within World of Warcraft with a summonable board in the "Toys" category for player characters.
- Creator Thumbprint: Make no mistake. Blizzard has a boner with the trope Fallen Hero, every of their major franchises have good and idealistic people eventually fell off the morality scale and became worse. Go ask Leoric, every playable characters in Diablo 1, Kerrigan, Arthas, Reaper and Soldier: 76
- Cutscene: While the games themselves are designed to work on weaker PCs, the cinematics are always state of the art.
- Downer Ending/Bittersweet Ending: Fairly common in Blizzard games.
- Diablo III also has a Bittersweet Ending: you've taken down Diablo and saved two worlds, but two of the franchise's most beloved characters are now dead (as well as a lot of other people throughout the course of the game), and the killer of one of them is still out there.
- In Reaper of Souls, you defeat the Big Bad Fallen Angel, kill traitor Adria, but the former releases all captured Evils. Here we go again...
- Fallen Hero: More often than not, villains in Blizzard's games fit this trope. The scarlet crusade can be considered an entire faction of fallen heroes.
- First Law of Resurrection: Starting with WoW: The Burning Crusade, where Illidan comes back as a major villain despite the fact that he was believed to be killed by Arthas, Blizzard is frequently accused of abusing this trope. This is also the origin of the
meme "X was merely a setback!", first said by Kael'thas Sunstrider the second time you fight him at the end of Magister's terrace in the same expansion. Blizzard themselves acknowledged and exploited this meme. - Flavor Text: For every unit.
- Large Ham: Blizzard games universally have the most flat out over-the-top voice acting you will find in a video game, or any other medium, really.
- Male Might, Female Finesse: Female units generally tend to be snipers or support units, and have a higher ratio of magic users compared to male units. Generally, this dichotomy also extends to named story characters.
- Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty: As a rule of thumb, most men will look like body builders while women look like they were ripped straight out of a fashion magazine. Virtually all female characters will be sporting hourglass figures and lack of visible muscle, to the point where it makes you wonder how they can even lift a gun or a sword. Even in cases where men have more varied body types, women will mostly be restricted to photo model bodies. This trope even extends to facial features: While male faces will run the gamut from effeminate Pretty Boys through rugged Hunks to butt-ugly, female faces will almost always conform to conventional beauty standards, even in the rare case of a muscular female character. The most egregious cases probably come from World of Warcraft's troll and goblin races, where the males sport cartoonishly long noses, ears, and tusks, while female look like a Cute Monster Girl at worst, as if from a different race altogether.
- Order Is Not Good: If there is a force of Order in Blizzard games, 50% chance that it will be some sort of tyrannical group of Knight Templar that oppresses freedom (Arcturus Mengsk-era Dominion, Vishkar Corporation) or flat out genocidal for a World of Silence (Some of the High Heavens, Malthael's reapers). It's only later in the lore when it turns out that Azeroth also has one: The Titans (or at least Algalon the Observer, who they left in charge of watching Azeroth)
- Rated M for Manly: Diablo has specifically been described as "what happens when you give the RPG genre from the Japanese into the hands of meat-eating Americans." The other franchises show symptoms too.
- Diablo II took it up a notch, being better than its predecessor in every way.
- Running Gag: Warcraft III had a variety of heroes in their Stop Poking Me! lines refer to "Darkness" as an actual individual they were calling. Heroes of the Storm would later continue this gag with plenty of its heroes, even ones outside of the Warcraft universe.
- Secret Level: Blizzard loves sneaking secret levels into their games.
- However they are adamant that there is no cow level... except in Diablo II.
- Stop Poking Me!: Invented in Warcraft and named in that same series. Used in almost all Blizzard games.
- Take That!/Take That Us: Blizzard is quite fond of this trope, fitting in various Take That! jokes at themselves as well as their
fanbase. Given the nature of their fanbase...it's pretty much a given. - World of Badass: Hell, EVERYONE! They even chew the scenery a lot even by the over the top dialogues that they make.
- World of Ham: See World of Badass above.
- The X of Y: Just look at the titles for their patches and expansions.
