Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Categories
Political economy

PLAY NICE

Jason Schreier

The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment

New York Times bestselling author and the gaming industry's preeminent investigative journalist Jason Schreier examines three decades of ups and downs at Blizzard Entertainment leading up to a hostile corporate takeover and a sexual misconduct scandal that put the legendary developer in a world of (Warcraft) trouble.

For video game fans, the name Blizzard Entertainment was once synonymous with perfection. The renowned company behind classics like Diablo and World of Warcraft was known to celebrate the joy of gaming over all else. What was once two UCLA students' simple mission to make games they wanted to play launched an empire with thousands of employees, millions of fans, and billions of dollars. But when Blizzard cancelled a buzzy project in 2013, it gave Bobby Kotick, the infamous CEO of corporate parent Activision, the excuse he needed to start cracking down on Blizzard's proud autonomy. Led by executives from McKinsey and Procter & Gamble, Activision began invading Blizzard from the inside. Glitchy products, PR disasters, and mass layoffs followed, marring the company's once pristine image. Then, in 2021, a staggering sexual misconduct and discrimination lawsuit against the company triggered a widespread reckoning and a shocking $69 billion acquisition. Based on firsthand interviews with more than 300 current and former employees, PLAY NICE chronicles the creativity, frustration, beauty, and betrayal across the epic 33-year saga of Blizzard Entertainment. From previously unrevealed stories of Blizzard's early culture, including fist fights and a hotel ban, to the full story of Titan, Blizzard's most high-profile canceled project, and the behind-the-scenes saga of how Blizzard executives battled their Activision overlords tooth and nail, this book explores the delight and despair of what it really means to "bleed Blizzard blue." Full of colorful personalities and dramatic twists, PLAY NICE is The Social Network for the video game industry.

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Book Published 2024-10-08 by Grand Central

Comments

Jason Schreier's outstandingly researched book warps us to video gaming's earliest years a world of multi-million-dollar lawsuits, business deals finalised with a handshake and a snarl, at a time when game designers could become as famous as rock stars and reveals how an industry titan was born. With a cast of vivid characters some of whom are unforgettable for all the wrong reasons Play Nice is a work of historical importance that also manages to be irresistibly entertaining.

Jason Schreier's PLAY NICE is a gripping narrative not just of a single influential company but the evolution of the entire video game industry, changing from a niche pursuit to one of the largest cultural products in the world. This is vital reading for anyone hoping to understand the state of entertainment in the 21st century. Video games are an unavoidable force; PLAY NICE breaks down the genre as well as the personalities behind it.

A fast paced thrill ride, perfect for anyone who has ever played a video game. Jason Schreier's comprehensive history of Blizzard Entertainment offers a completely enthralling look at the company's founding and the bitter battle for its future. A must read!

Jason Schreier is the closest thing video games have to David Grann. Fearless, intrepid, and always fair-minded, Schreier gets at stories no one else can. He makes clear that the history of Blizzard is a microcosm of a larger, uglier story: the clash between shareholder capitalism and creativity, the unseemly corporate toleration of bad behavior, and the exploitation of workers who in many cases sacrifice their youth to make wealthy people even wealthier. This is riveting, essential reading for anyone who cares about how art is made in the twenty-first century.

xmo/Russia, China Science and Technology Press/China, Infortress/Taiwan, Mal'Opus/Ukraine

Here's a thrilling adventure story from the untamed, online wilderness of modern capitalism. Think Barbarians at the Gate, but with digital dragons and blood-thirsty trolls. Gaming is now a more powerful and influential business than Hollywood, and Jason Schreier has delivered a masterful narrative that shows how the industry really works.

Play Nice is the ultimate insider account of the creation of some of the most beloved games ever, and a colorful portrait of the computer-game gold rush. Who knew that behind the scenes of Warcraft and Overwatch was a story of power plays, betrayals, and quests for glory as epic as the games themselves?

Jason Schreier's Play Nice is a riveting chronicle of one of gaming's most iconic companies. With gripping detail and unmatched access, Schreier pulls back the curtain on Blizzard Entertainment's meteoric rise, turbulent history, and struggle to balance uncompromising creativity with corporate America's unyielding pursuit of profit. Play Nice is a must-read exposé of the passion, ambition and dysfunction behind some of the most beloved games of all time.

To a lot of people, Blizzard is the most important video game company whose mascot isn't an Italian plumber. As one of those people, I found myself sucked into to Play Nice, Jason Schreier's compulsively readable deep dive into the studio behind WarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. At once a warts-and-all page turner about the making of some of the biggest video games of all time, a parable about how corporate greed corrupts even the most beloved cultural institutions, and a labor story about the inequities of a booming gaming industry, Play Nice is both satisfying and illuminating. I'd wondered over the years why there wasn't a big book about the history of Blizzard. Well: Job's done.