The topic of List of Blizzard Entertainment games is a topic that has generated interest and debate in today's society. Since its origins, List of Blizzard Entertainment games has been an object of study and reflection, generating conflicting opinions and conflicting positions. In this article, we aim to objectively and exhaustively address different aspects related to List of Blizzard Entertainment games, from its historical background to its relevance in the current context. Different perspectives will be analyzed, relevant data will be presented and we will seek to offer a global and complete vision of List of Blizzard Entertainment games, with the aim of contributing to the debate around this very relevant topic.
Video games by developer/publisher
Blizzard Entertainment is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. The company was founded in February 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce and Allen Adham. The company initially concentrated on porting other studio's games to computer platforms, as well RPM Racing (1991), a remake of Racing Destruction Set (1985).[1][2] In 1992, however, the company began producing original games for home consoles with The Lost Vikings (1992) and Rock n' Roll Racing (1993), and beginning with Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) it shifted to primarily focus on original computer games. The company was renamed to Blizzard Entertainment in 1994, and in 1996 the company Condor, then developing Diablo (1997), was merged with Blizzard and renamed to Blizzard North; it remained a separate studio for the company until it was closed in 2005.[2]
Blizzard was acquired by distributor Davidson & Associates in 1994, and a chain of acquisitions over the next four years led Blizzard to being a part of Vivendi Games, a subsidiary of Vivendi; when Vivendi Games merged with Activision in 2008 the resulting company was named Activision Blizzard.[2] The name was retained when Activision Blizzard became an independent company in 2013, while Blizzard itself has been an independent subsidiary company throughout.[3][4]
Since the late 1990s, Blizzard has focused almost exclusively on the Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and Overwatch series. All of Blizzard's games released since 2004 still receive expansions and updates, especially the long-running massively multiplayer online role-playing gameWorld of Warcraft (2004). With over 100 million lifetime accounts as of 2014 and US$9 billion in revenue as of 2017, World of Warcraft is one of the best-selling computer games and highest-grossing video games of all time.[5][6] Blizzard Entertainment has developed 19 games since 1991, in addition to developing 8 ports between 1992 and 1993; 11 of those games are in the Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft series.
Warcraft II: Battle Chest (1996),[30]Warcraft II: The Dark Saga (1997),[31] and Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition (1999) include the original game and Dark Portal[24]
Included without expansions in the Blizzard's Game of the Year Collection (1998),[32] and with the Dark Portal expansion in Blizzard Anthology (2000)[33] and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Exclusive Gift Set (2002) collections[34]
Diablo + Hellfire (1998) includes the original game and Hellfire[39]
Recreated within Diablo III (2012) in 2016 20th anniversary update[40]
Included without expansion in the Blizzard's Game of the Year Collection (1998),[32]Blizzard Anthology (2000),[33]Diablo II Gift Pack (2000),[41] and Diablo Battle Chest (2001) collections[42]
StarCraft Battle Chest (1999) includes the original game and Brood War;[49]StarCraft: Remastered (2017) includes remastered versions of original game and Brood War[50]
Included without expansions in the Blizzard's Game of the Year Collection (1998),[32] and include with Brood War in the Blizzard Anthology (2000) collection[33]
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic
World of Warcraft: The War Within
Existing expansions are incorporated for free into the base game several years after release[66]
Recreation of the original game prior to expansions released as World of Warcraft Classic (2019), and recreations of the first expansions released as The Burning Crusade Classic (2021), Wrath of the Lich King Classic (2022) and Cataclysm Classic (2024), with Mists of Pandaria Classic expected in 2025[67]
World of Warcraft Battle Chest (2007) includes the original game and all expansions not already included in the base game[66][68]
^Craddock, David L. (2013-10-27). Stay Awhile and Listen: Book 1: How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo and Forged a Video-Game Empire. Digital Monument Press. p. 333. ISBN978-0-9884099-0-3.