How Blizzard stayed laser-focused on quality games for 25 years

Blizzard Entertainment celebrates its 25th anniversary today, a milestone that very few video game companies achieve in a very Darwinian industry. It has survived this long, and thrived, because of a relentless emphasis on quality. The company, which has been part of Activision Blizzard since 2008, has grown to more than 4,000 employees. In the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2015, it generated $1.6 billion in revenue and a profit of $592 million. It is one of the crown jewels of the American game business, and its StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo brands are known throughout the world.

GamesBeat decided to step back and look at Blizzard’s singular achievement, which started as a few college kids and grew into a corporate empire. It’s a story about a team that stayed together and grew, even as it bounced around from one corporate owner to another, and a focus on quality that was so severe that the team would often kill mediocre games on its own, rather than allow them to be released and damage the company’s good name. Blizzard has sold millions of copies of its games, its flagship brand is becoming a blockbuster film release, and the names Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft are household names.