Blizzard North
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|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1993 (as Condor) |
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California, United States |
|
Key people
|
Max Schaefer Erich Schaefer David Brevik |
| Products | Justice League Task Force, Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction |
| Website | www.blizzard.com |
Blizzard North was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for the Diablo series. The studio was originally based in Redwood City, and then moved a short distance away to San Mateo, with Blizzard proper being based in Irvine (in southern California).
Contents
History
Blizzard North was originally an independent company. It was established in 1993 under the name Condor, founded by Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, and David Brevik. The company was purchased and renamed by Blizzard about nine months before the release of their hit PC game, Diablo, in 1996.[1] Diablo was very successful, and the 2000 sequel Diablo II was even more successful. An expansion pack followed the year after.
By June 2003 two new games were in production. However, on June 30, 2003, several key employees left Blizzard North to form the new companies Flagship Studios (8 moved here including Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, David Brevik and Bill Roper) and Castaway Entertainment (9 moved here).[citation needed] The Blizzard North exodus continued on with around 30 employees leaving the company in total.
The resignations were partly due to a conflict with Blizzard Entertainment's owner, Vivendi, and partly due to employees wishing to start something new. Back at Blizzard North, however, the resignations had a common effect; of the two unannounced games that were in production, one was canceled. Blizzard Entertainment has since said the canceled game was a "Blizzard North kind of game."
On August 1, 2005, Blizzard Entertainment announced the closure of Blizzard North. A key reason for the closure was Blizzard North's poor development of what was to be Diablo III which did not meet the expectations of Vivendi. Former Blizzard North staffers including Joseph Lawrence, Wyatt Cheng and Matt Uelmen subsequently appeared in the credits of Blizzard's next retail release, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. The work of former Blizzard North artist Phroilan Gardner was also featured in editions of World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game around the same time.
A few employees from the Diablo team, including Eric Sexton, Michio Okamura and Steven Woo, organized to launch a new company, Hyboreal Games.[2]
Games
As Condor
- NFL Quarterback Club '95 (1994) - handheld versions
- Justice League Task Force (1995) - Mega Drive/Genesis version
- NFL Quarterback Club '96
As Blizzard North
- Diablo (1996) - action role-playing game
- Diablo II (2000) - action role-playing game
- Diablo III
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Hyboreal Games Q&A - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads
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- http://www.gamespot.com/pages/company/index.php?company=39855
External links
| Main franchises |
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| People | ||
| Related |
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- Pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from July 2008
- Video game development companies
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Defunct video game companies
- Video game companies of the United States
- Companies established in 1993
- Companies disestablished in 2005
- Companies based in San Mateo, California
