The New Blizzard – Is It Finally Good Again?
But Blizzard’s long road to recovery seems to finally be bearing fruit. Because no matter where you look right now – the impression is forming that the community is back in focus and decisions are being made for the benefit of the respective game.
Overwatch is thriving, World of Warcraft seems to be heading towards a glorious future, Hearthstone is slowly recovering, and Diablo is also doing well. There was also recent news that at least one new StarCraft title is in development, although there is little information about it so far.
Of course, not everything is perfect at Blizzard yet. The state of the latest WoW patch at release was a medium-sized disaster, and it took weeks until the worst bugs and problems were fixed. I still find the launch state of the new demon hunter unbelievably embarrassing.
That Overwatch 2 has simply renamed itself back to “Overwatch” is probably also quite an admission of failure, but at least it is an honest step into the future that says: We messed up, now let’s do it right.
It will surely take years until one can really say: “This feels like the old Blizzard again.” But the developers are currently on a very good path with almost all the games that Blizzard develops and oversees. For the first time in a long time, I am positively optimistic about Blizzard. I like how much the developers communicate and how quickly they respond to feedback, whether about requests for housing systems or criticism regarding the design of an Overwatch hero.
A few years ago, I mourned the old Blizzard and wondered where it had gone. Now the answer seems to be: It has traveled into the future, and with a little luck, we can all say in a few years again: Blizzard stands for good games and direct communication with the community. Wouldn’t that be nice?
