For the discovery of a 20-year-old CD, Blizzard is offering a lot, including a meeting with the developers and a BlizzCon visit.
It sounds a bit like a story from a typical young adult novel: When buying a box full of old items, Hector Solorzano acquires a suspicious golden CD labeled “StarCraft Gold Master Source Code” from Blizzard Entertainment.
For those who don’t know: the CD was lost nearly 20 years ago (1998) and has since been sought after because it contains, among other things, the source code of the game.
After Solorzano shared his find on Reddit, some called him a liar and didn’t believe his story. Others wanted him to upload the CD’s content so that everyone could enjoy it. Still, other players became almost angry that Solorzano wanted to keep this CD for himself.
Ultimately, however, he chose a different path and contacted Blizzard directly. The game studio requested to have the CD returned – and Salorzano complied with the request.
As a first reaction, he received a finder’s fee from Blizzard – $250 in credit for the Blizzard Store and Overwatch as a new game.
But Blizzard’s gratitude didn’t stop there. Shortly thereafter, he received a large package from Blizzard, filled with lots of merchandise. From Overwatch plush toys to a new keyboard and a Diablo bottle opener, almost everything for the nerd’s heart was included.
And that was still not the end: Shortly after, he received a call from Blizzard and was asked if he had ever heard of BlizzCon. Of course, he had – but he had not been able to afford it until now. No problem – Blizzard is covering travel, accommodation, and even adds a “round of drinks with the developers.”
Overall, this story is a clear case of “Honesty is the best policy,” and whoever finds a little treasure and returns it can be assured of the owner’s gratitude.
Blizzard has now confirmed the entire story in an email to Kotaku:
“[We] wanted to show an appropriate level of appreciation for the player because he did the right thing, not just for Blizzard, but on behalf of the large and active community that still enjoys StarCraft today.”
