Business
The Microsoft acquisition, the silence on subscriber numbers since 2015, the NetEase licensing lapse, the 2021 California suit and its settlements, and the recognised union.
5 pieces
A realm is a server. Layering, sharding and cross-realm all begin as answers to what one of these can hold.
Photo: panumas nikhomkhai / Pexels
The acquisition closed in October 2023 after twenty-one months of regulatory review. The 1,900 redundancies were announced in January 2024.
Photo: BlizzardIrvine · Wikimedia Commons
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Microsoft completed the largest acquisition in gaming history in October 2023. By January 2024 it had cut 1,900 people from the combined games division. Both events were consequential; neither was a surprise.
BusinessBlizzard Reported 5.5 Million Subscribers in 2015 and Has Not Published a Figure SinceThe last published figure is 5.5 million, in November 2015. Everything quoted since is an estimate.
BusinessThe NetEase Deal Lapsed in January 2023 and Came Back in July 2024Eighteen months dark in mainland China, then a new agreement in 2024.
BusinessThe 2021 California Suit: The Filing, the Settlements, the DatesFiled July 2021. An $18m federal settlement in March 2022, and $54m with the state in December 2023.
BusinessThe Blizzard Albany QA Union and the Recognition That FollowedMicrosoft recognised the Albany QA unit in May 2023 — the first in the company.