During the celebration of BlizzCon 2023, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer walked on stage to deliver his message to Blizzard Entertainment fans.
Spencer, who is now ultimately at the helm of the studio following the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. addressed the audience mentioning that this is the first time he atends the event.
He started by talking about the value of Blizzard to both the history of gaming in general and to gamers.
Hello everybody at BlizzCon. This is my first BlizzCon ever and it’s great to feel the energy in the room. You are the reason we make games.
Your love for these games truly is inspiring. I recently spent so much time playing Diablo 4 with my friends. Season 2 is awesome. And I can tell you that I can’t wait for you to see what the team has planned for that game. It’s going to be awesome.
Blizzard occupies a special place in the gaming industry for me as well, throughout Blizzard’s history, they’ve pioneered and refined so much across the gaming industry, and many of you here today have been a part of that journey.
Think of Diablo. It propelled the action RPG genre forward. StarCraft, spawned the foundation of what esports would eventually become. And with StarCraft 2, it was a major catalyst for the evolution of games as live entertainment..
World of Warcraft changed not only how people developed and supported games, but really it introduced a much wider audience to the concept of online communities.
And Overwatch not only reimagined gameplay but also the representation possible in class-based shooters.
Blizzard’s influence is everywhere and because of its enduring legacy and phenomenal revolutionary development, with the care and a craft, that is incredibly rare in this industry.
Spencer then moved on to explain Xbox’s commitment to and its developers following the acquisition, promising to “Nurture the essence” of Blizzard and to empower its creatives. He also mentioned that the future of the studio is “brighter than ever.”
Our commitment at Xbox is to bring more great games to more players in more places. And now that Blizzard is part of Xbox, we will nurture the essence of what has made Blizzard unique.
We’re gonna empower our new colleagues in a culture of trust, inclusion, and collaboration to continue with what they do best, redefining existing genres, creating new never-before-seen experiences, and uniting players globally in new ways in Azeroth, and Sanctuary, in near-future Earth, and beyond.
It has been a privilege to welcome the teams at Blizzard to Xbox and I’m honored to be able to be here to help welcome all of you to BlizzCon 2023. Having seen what’s in store for players, I can say the future of Blizzard is brighter than ever, and you all have so much to look forward to in this show.
Blizzard president CEO Mike Ybarra added that the studio has “never been more empowered, free, and dedicated to holding true to what makes Blizzard unique” than they are today.
During the presentation, we heard about part of the “bright future” teased by Spencer, including the first expansion for Diablo 4, the next hero for Overwatch 2, and a whopping three expansions for World of Warcraft.
