Leveling Up, Losing Touch

A Review of "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment" by Jason Schreier

October 12, 2024, Vol. 2, Issue 43

Cite as: Coleman, Anita S. (2024, October 12). Leveling Up, Losing Touch: A Review of “Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard” by Jason Schreier. Infophilia, a positive psychology of information, 2 (43).

In 2022, there were 3.09 billion video gamers and the number was expected to reach 3.32 billion by 2024. Of these 2.89 billion are online video gamers, with the largest numbers in Asia-Pacific, followed by the Middle East, and Africa. By 2027, the gaming industry is expected to be worth more than $337 billion. Blizzard Entertainment, an American game holding company based in Irvine, California, is one of the biggest gaming companies in the world. It’s parent company Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft late last year for ~$68.7 billion.***

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier was just published, this month. Already, the audio, hardcover, and kindle of this book are the top three sellers in the Entertainment Industry category on Amazon. Despite some complaints about overwhelming details, structural issues, lack of surprises, and potential bias, the book and author have generally been praised. The NY Times, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews have written glowing reviews. A reader on Reddit calls it a “fascinating read” and the Punishedbacklog website admires it as a “sharp, well-written exposé.”

Blizzard Entertainment is one of the most beloved, influential, and controversial game developing companies in the industry. I was very close to Blizzard in the late 1990s.