The DeanBeat: A visit inside Blizzard shows what it’s like to live and breathe games

IRVINE, Calif. — At Blizzard Entertainment’s three-building campus in Irvine, Calif., there’s a big iron fence. I’m not sure if it is there to keep the rabid fans of the game maker — of which there are many — out. Or perhaps it’s there to keep the grizzled veterans, the grognards of the game industry, inside.

As I wandered through their headquarters, accompanied, of course, by a PR handler, I got a glimpse of what it’s like to live and breathe gaming. These teams have made hit after hit, and they live inside cocoons in their cubicles. Blizzard should really just keep them chained to their desks. But I suspect that, even if they were prisoners, they wouldn’t run away.