“You and I grew up at a time where Blizzard was almost as synonymous as Pixar in terms of quality. That’s where I aspire those brands to get to get to, and I’d love the opportunity to go work with creative teams to make that possible,” says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in an interview with Axios journalist Stephen Totilo.
It’s no secret that Blizzard has not been hitting many home runs as of late. Recent World of Warcraft expansions have received lukewarm player excitement and several highly anticipated titles have been delayed indefinitely. When added to the deluge of bad press and allegations in 2021, it’s hard to imagine a company further from “Pixar quality” at the moment.
Microsoft’s recent announcement to purchase Activision Blizzard has given hope to many players yearning for the Blizzard of the past, and it seems that Spencer is determined to make it happen. “Yeah, I want more people to be playing WoW in five years that are playing today,” he tells Totilo.
“I want more people to be playing Call of Duty in five years, more people to be playing Candy Crush in five years, because we’ve made it more accessible to more people.” As Spencer implies, a return to form can only do good things for Blizzard games, its communities, and the developers who deserve to thrive in their work.
