Summary
Blizzardjust shared some fascinating statistics for its various franchises from throughout 2023. These stats show just how bigBlizzardgames have been this year, and how much positive change the company has had recently.
It is no exaggeration to say that Activision Blizzard has been a big topic in the news over the last few years. In comparison to previous years, however, 2023 has been one full of success for the company. It saw the release ofDiablo 4andWarcraft Rumble, the majority ofOverwatch 2’s seasons thus far, and an ambitious release schedule forWorld of Warcraft– not to mentionBlizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft.
In arecent blog post by Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, the company shared some entertaining and enlightening stats from the year. These numbers revealed the most dangerous creatures in Azeroth and Sanctuary, as well as the history, integrity, and generosity of the Blizzard gaming community.
The blog post also went into some of Blizzard’s other milestones from the year.Hearthstonelaunched three new expansions, andDiablo Immortalintroduced the first new class to the universein nearly 10 years. The company as a whole also began several new initiatives for DE&I, nettingDiablo 4a nomination at the Game Awards for Innovation in Accessibility.
Of course, 2023 was not all sunshine for Blizzard. Its long-time partnership with NetEase dissolved in January, cutting off access to most Blizzard games in China. The company was also affected by the rampant layoffs in the industry throughout the year, caught controversy due to the return-to-office mandates in the aftermath of the pandemic, and hadmajor Blizzard developers like Sam Didier leave the company.
Even so, it is safe to say the good has outweighed the bad for Blizzard in 2023. The company already has big plans for 2024, withWorld of Warcraftalready sharing a roadmapfor its 20th anniversary, so players will have to see if it can keep up its positive momentum going forward.
World of Warcraft
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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It’s one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.
