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MCV 06/08/10 15 MCV INTERVIEW MICHAEL RYDER, VP OF INTERNATIONAL, BLIZZARD
How Blizzard became the most bankable PC publisher
Blizzard has been one of the most influential and successful games companies in the world for almost 20 years. But how has it managed to achieve such as a feat when other PC publishers have struggled? Christopher Dring speaks to VP of international Michael Ryder to find out…
IT IS HARD to think that Blizzard and Activision are part of the same company. Whereas Activision focuses on its annual iterative franchises, such as Call of Duty and Guitar Hero, Blizzard takes a much slower approach. The release last month of StarCraft II is the publisher and developer’s first game since 2004’s World of Warcraft. Indeed, the Activision Blizzard management team has been very careful with Blizzard. Rather than mess with the firm’s ecosystem – forcing the company to develop more titles and expansions quicker – the publisher has left it alone to do what it does best. And it’s easy to see why. World of
Warcraft is the No.1 subscription-based MMO in the world, with 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. Meanwhile, Blizzard generated $1.2bn in revenue during 2009 alone – and that’s without releasing a new game or expansion.
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The Blizzard culture is extremely important. We nurture it and protect it because it is a big part of who we are.
Michael Ryder, Blizzard
For Activision Blizzard, it’s a case of it aint broke, don’t fix it.
“Since we had our merger with Activision, it hasn’t changed anything at Blizzard,” says Michael Ryder, vice president and executive managing director for Blizzard’s international operations. “We operate in pretty much the same way we always have. Since we have been working with Activision we continue to be who we are. We make the same decisions in the same way we always have, and the relationship with Activision hasn’t change that.
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Blizzard’s international boss Michael Ryder says the firm’s unique culture hasn’t changed since the merger with Activision
“For Blizzard, our culture is extremely important. It is actually the basis for how we do what we do. “We have a really strong culture that has a number of values that we share with our offices around the world. That culture, those values, binds us together and it defines the way we want to behave. “For example, we often talk about play nice and play fair, which has to do how we work with each other and our partners. Preserving that Blizzard culture is a key part of our ability to continue to deliver great games. We
nurture it, protect it and take care of it as much as we can, because it is a big part of who we are.”
SERVICE GAMES Blizzard’s business model is also in contrast to Activision’s. Whereas the latter concentrates on shifting boxes at retail, Blizzard is about servicing its fanbase and keeping them engaged. In fact, during our chat, Ryder uses the term ‘community’ 15 times in ten minutes. “We are very fortunate to have a strong community of players that cares
about our games and what Blizzard is doing,” he says. “We don’t look at it as satisfying or appeasing the audience. We look at it more as working with them. We really want to know what is going on and that is why we have an organisation of people working with the communities, making sure we hear the ideas and the issues.” These communities aren’t the easiest to please either. Over the last 12 months, core PC gamers have attacked Valve for developing a sequel to Left4Dead so soon after the original,
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