A Final Message From Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime

Original post can be found here

When news broke about Mike Morhaime stepping down from being president and CEO of Blizzard, I was in my cubicle working on another story. I casually checked twitter to see what news was trending and saw that, “Blizzard” and just below it, “Mike Morhaime” were leading. I quickly thought to myself, “Hmm must be an announcement of an expansion?”….I was wrong….way wrong. I would eventually see my twitter feed full of thank yous and goodbyes to Mike. The Blizzard community was pouring their hearts out and showing just how grateful they were.

He made his announcement through a final message for the Blizzard community to read. I read it over and over because of just how “real” it felt and how genuine the sentiment really was. In his final message it is not about him or the great things he’s achieved, it is about the community, Blizzard, who he chose to lead, and what an amazing journey it has been.

A beautiful selfless message that we will now take a closer look at and share my experience with you.

The Message From Mike Morhaime

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From left: Mike Morhaime and Allen Adham picture from http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/14524/Silicon-Synapse-founded/

When Blizzard’s founder Allen Adham first invited me to join him in creating Silicon & Synapse (our original name), nothing could have prepared me for the amazing adventure that we would share for the next 27 years. Our original mission and values consisted of four simple words that formed our foundation: “We make great games.” We crafted that statement before we had even released our first game, but we were committed to living up to it

Notice how he says “Blizzard’s founder” Allen Adham invited him, giving him full credit for the idea of both Blizzard and, “Silicon & Synapse”. Soon after in parenthesis, “our original name”which is showing their first creation together.

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Mike Morhaime picture taken from http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/14524/Silicon-Synapse-founded/

After many years of working with some of the industry’s most talented people to create games and worlds for you to play in, I’ve decided it’s time for someone else to lead Blizzard Entertainment. I will now serve as an advisor to the company I so love and admire. My duties as president of Blizzard will be assumed by my friend, colleague, trusted advisor, and longtime steward of World of Warcraft, J. Allen Brack.

When Mike says, “worlds for you to play in” this is where it begins to become more intimate and feels as if he is standing next to you, the reader, rather than make it feel like a general statement to a community.

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J. Allen Brack photo taken from https://blizzardwatch.com

J. is an inspiring leader who has shown unwavering commitment to Blizzard’s community in his 12 years with the company. His leadership on World of Warcraft leveraged his vision, creativity, and commitment to quality, and together with the rest of the dev team helped deliver an experience that is unprecedented in our industry. I couldn’t be happier for J. and know that Blizzard will continue to make great games with him at the helm.

Giving a brief background about J. Allen Brack and showing his admiration for him, he tells us why J. was chosen. He was able to further expand an entire universe, stay true to his vision, be creative, stay ahead of his time, and most importantly, “make great games”. J. truly stayed within Blizzard’s principals of making great games, which is why he was the perfect choice.

I am grateful to all of the hardworking and talented people at Blizzard for their dedication and creativity. Their belief in our mission and care for our players has helped Blizzard reach greater heights than I ever could have imagined.

I am also grateful to all of you in the community. We have been through so much together. Not only have you been with me through many of the greatest moments and biggest triumphs of my life, but you have also been there through some of the most difficult. I am fortunate to have been able to meet many of you in person, while the many messages, emails, Tweets, Reddit discussions, and forum posts have provided an unbelievable connection as well. Even Twitch chat. It has always brought me joy, comfort, and inspiration to see the beacons of brilliance, voices of reason, and the passion that exists and evolves every day in all of our communities.

I had a bit of trouble in the first paragraph above, mainly because he keeps the thank you to the individuals at Blizzard very brief. This is most likely due their long list of achievements and it would not leave room for the most important part of what keeps Blizzard going, the community.

Mike praises the community and lets us know that we have been there for him in the best as well as the worst of times. No matter the situation, community was always first. He was always listening through the many channels that the Blizzard community resided in. Even Twitch chat.

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The Blizzard Community taken from https://blizzcon.com/en-us/news/21124622/cosplayers-squeeze-in-for-the-2017-group-cosplay-photo

When we started Blizzard we just wanted to make great games. What we realized is that the games we create are really just a framework for communities and human interaction. When we look back, what we often find that’s most lasting and meaningful from our experiences in games are the relationships we create and foster. You have given me the inspiration and drive to pour my heart and life into what I do. I literally couldn’t have done any of it without you. We have created these worlds, but you have given them life, through your passion, fan art, cosplay, videos, and in so many other ways.

This is when he puts it into a full perspective and my eyes began to well up. Because when Mike states,

“the games we create are really just a framework for communities and human interaction.”

Everything finally clicked and I began to reflect on own journey with Blizzard. Through their great games I would not know most of you and especially the people reading this today. By making friends online, meeting new people, and developing those relationships through their games was and is Blizzard’s fuel. In fact, this blog too is a byproduct of Blizzard’s amazing framework in full effect.

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Blizzcon 2015 photo taken from https://nerdist.com/blizzcon-2015-dates-announced-tickets-go-on-sale-this-april/

I truly believe that this amazing community has the potential to be a shining light to the rest of the industry by setting a positive example of inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance toward others. In the words of one of Blizzard’s core values: remember to always play nice; play fair. I know this community is capable of changing the world.

The tears start rolling for me here because of his belief in where he hopes the community will be going and how he views us as the standard for the rest of the industry. This truly makes me feel grateful to be a part of something this big and capable of changing the world with it.

It has been an honor to serve this community for over 27 years, and I thank you for your many years of support. I look forward to being a member of the community alongside you. See you on Battle.net!

Now the he is stepping down from a leadership role, he is now able to experience first hand what he has created over his twenty seven years of running blizzard. Morheim signs off not as CEO or President anymore but instead as:

Your fellow Blizzard gamer,
Mike Morhaime

Thank you Mike for changing my life and creating a beautiful community.

A Final Message From Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime

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