Blizzard Entertainment
| |
| Blizzard Entertainment | |
| Type | Division of Activision Blizzard |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 1991 (Silicon & Synapse) 1993 (Chaos Studios) 1994 (Blizzard Entertainment) |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Key people | Allen Adham, founder Michael Morhaime, founder Frank Pearce, founder |
| Industry | Video games |
| Products | Video games |
| Number of people | 4,700 |
| Website | http://www.blizzard.com/ |
Blizzard Entertainment is an American video game developer.
Silicon & Synapse
Silicon & Synapse was founded in February 1991 by Allen Adham, Michael Morhaime, and Frank Pearce.
Chaos Studios
In 1993, Silicon & Synapse was briefly renamed Chaos Studios.
Blizzard Entertainment
Chaos Studios was renamed Blizzard Entertainment in 1994.
Acquisition by Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates acquired Blizzard Entertainment in 1994.
CUC International aquisition
CUC International acquired Davidson & Associates in 1996, CUC Software was formed, and Blizzard became a subsidiary of the latter.
CUC International and Hospitality Franchise Systems merge to create Cedant Software
CUC International and Hospitality Franchise Systems merged in December 1997 forming Cedant, and Blizzard's parent company was renamed Cendant Software.
Havas aquisition
On November 20, 1998, the French media company Havas, which itself was acquired by Vivendi in 1997, acquired Cendant Software for $800 million USD.
Blizzard Entertainment's parent company, Cedant Software, was renamed Havas Interactive.
Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing and Vivendi Universal Games
In June 2000, Vivendi, Seagram, and Canal+ merged. As Canal+ owned Universal Studios, the resulting company was named Vivendi Universal.
On May 16, 2001, Havas was renamed Vivendi Universal Publishing after its parent company. As a result, Havas Interactive was renamed Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing
On November 13, 2001, the North American and international divisions were consolidated into Vivendi Universal Games.
On March 3, 2006, Vivendi Universal sold the majority of its media operations to General Electric and was renamed Vivendi. As a result, Vivendi Universal Games was renamed Vivendi Games.
Vivendi merges with Activision to form Activision Blizzard
On July 9, 2008, Vivendi Games was merged with Activision to create Activision Blizzard.
Acquisition by Microsoft
Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion USD on October 13, 2023, and the latter became a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming.
Silicon & Synapse games (1991-1993)
| Title | Year | System | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RPM Racing | 1991 | SNES | The SNES version in included in Blizzard Arcade Collection for Nintendo Switch. |
| The Lost Vikings | 1992 | Genesis SNES |
The 1992 Genesis and SNES, and the 2021 definitive versions are included in Blizzard Arcade Collection for Nintendo Switch. |
| Rock n' Roll Racing | 1993 | Genesis SNES |
The 1993 Genesis, SNES, four-player, and the 2021 definitive versions are included in Blizzard Arcade Collection for Nintendo Switch. |
Blizzard Entertainment games (1994-present)
| Title | Year | System | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackthorne | 1994 | SNES 32X |
The 1994 SNES version, the 1995 32X version, and the 2021 definitive versions are included in Blizzard Arcade Collection for Nintendo Switch. |
| Warcraft: Orcs & Humans | 1994 | DOS | |
| Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness | 1995 | DOS | |
| Diablo | 1997 | Windows | |
| The Lost Vikings 2 | 1997 | SNES | The SNES version is included in Blizzard Arcade Collection for Nintendo Switch. |
