Everyone knows Steam today, the big shop for games. Blizzard wanted to do the same years earlier, but the idea was rejected by the managers.
If there is software that is almost certainly installed on every gaming PC, then it is Steam. Nowhere else can you find so many games so conveniently, and there is a huge library that is easily accessible and quite user-friendly.
However, years before the release of Steam, Blizzard had the same idea for Battle.net – but the management at that time rejected it. A decision they might regret in hindsight.
Most new games today can be found on Steam – like Metaphor: ReFantazio:
Where does the information come from? The information comes from the book “Play Nice – The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment” by journalist Jason Schreier. He has maintained close contacts with Blizzard employees over decades and has repeatedly uncovered various scandals and internal affairs. All the knowledge he has accumulated over the years has now been processed in this book.
What was discussed back then? According to Schreier, developer Patrick Wyatt and a few others prepared a pitch and had a plan “to turn Battle.net into a digital shop for various PC games.” (via pcgamer.com)
The idea also received support from Mike O’Brien, who had previously developed Battle.net as a free multiplayer service for Blizzard games.
However, the proposal was rejected by the company’s management.
The individuals with the original idea – O’Brien, Wyatt, and Jeff Strain – later left Blizzard and became part of the founding of ArenaNet, known today primarily for the “Guild Wars” series.
In 2003, the triumph of Steam began. With the release of Half-Life 2, players were “forced” to use Steam. This was controversially discussed back then, just as there is always discussion today when additional software is required. Meanwhile, Steam is the absolute market leader and can be found on almost every gaming PC.
This is the current state: Although Battle.net has also become a sales platform now, it is only for selected titles from Blizzard and Activision. For many years, this was the only way to play the major games like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo. Now Blizzard – after many years of resistance – has also begun to release its own games on Steam, such as Overwatch 2.
But it is at least an interesting thought to imagine that Battle.net for gaming could have been what Steam has become today – if only the developers’ vision from over 20 years ago had been realized. It’s almost ironic that Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 was at times the worst game on Steam.
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