Blizzard Entertainment Inc.’s working-at-home developers have reached a milestone in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic—the Irvine-based company’s first-ever video game launched by a remote workforce.
The company released the new Hearthstone expansion, Ashes of Outland, on April 7. Pre-orders started around $50, according to the company’s website.
“Launching a game expansion while our teams work remotely could only happen as a result of people coming together across the entire organization to adapt during these challenging times,” a company spokesperson told the Business Journal on April 2.
Epic Experience
“We’re pulling together to continue doing all the work that goes into providing our players with epic game experiences,” the company official said. “While we can’t predict the future, our long-term planning hasn’t been impacted.”
Blizzard, the largest software company in Orange County by headcount with an estimated 2,800 local employees, has implemented work-from-home policies.
“The team has worked quickly and efficiently to ensure the safety, comfort, and support for our teams across the globe, which includes paying for all medical expenses, paid time off for parents and additional support during this challenging time,” the spokesperson said.
During this time, the company will also continue to pay its on-site vendors and contractors, according to the spokesperson.
Now Hiring
Despite the pandemic-caused recession, business appears to be booming at Blizzard. The company was advertising for 259 open positions, most of them in Irvine, as of early this month on its website. That includes slots for Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and an “unannounced project.”
Mention Blizzard to hardcore gamers these days, and they’ll likely note the long-awaited role-playing game Diablo IV, which was previewed at the annual BlizzCon fanfest in Anaheim in November.
It’s been almost eight years since the prior version of the game was released. That edition sold over 3.5 million copies in the first 24 hours of its release.
Dark & Deep
Blizzard said it will inform the gaming community when it has something to announce. “Our team is committed to quality and making as authentic, dark, and deep an experience as possible for the Diablo community, which takes time,” the company said.
Blizzard is adding new information regularly to the Diablo IV website with quarterly updates via blog.
Unprecedented Time
Patience may be required, since there was even pre-pandemic speculation that the release won’t happen this year.
“We are thankful that our community is connecting and playing games with each other during this unprecedented time,” executives said. “Games are an important way for people to connect and be together—even if not physically—and we are committed to making that experience as positive as possible.”
Blizzard is owned by Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) of Santa Monica. Its shares were off about 6% since mid-February, for a market capitalization of $46 billion.
