Play Nice

The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment

De: Jason Schreier

Narrado por: Ray Chase

From a New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist comes The Social Network for the video game industry, a riveting examination of Blizzard Entertainment's rise and shocking downfall.

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. Activision began invading Blizzard from the inside. Glitchy products, PR disasters, mass layoffs, and a staggering lawsuit marred the company's reputation and led to its ultimate reckoning.

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, showing us what it really means to "bleed Blizzard blue." Full of colorful personalities and dramatic twists, this is the story of what happens when the ruthless pursuit of profit meets artistic idealism.

©2024 Jason Schreier (P)2024 Grand Central Publishing

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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.”—Christopher Leonard, New York Times bestselling author of Kochland and The Lords of Easy Money

“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!”—Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, Dumb Money, and The Midnight Ride.

"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."—Bradley Hope, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Billion Dollar Whale

"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."—Kyle Chayka, author Filterworld

"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?"—Zeke Faux, author of Number Go Up

For Anyone Interested in the Industry

If you liked Blood, Sweat, and Pixels you will like this! Jason at his finest.

A Revealing Inside Look Into a Renowned Entertainment Juggernaut

This was a great, all-encompassing synopsis of a sometimes mysterious corporation with new revelations and previously unknown facts that will fascinate anyone who has ever speculated about the inner workings of one of the biggest names in gaming.

Throughout the listen I was surprised by Jason's ability to weave a coherent narrative out of various sources, projects, and insidious rumors of corporate politics.

Pure Blast of Nostalgia

Was a big Blizzard pc gamer growing up. Very cool to learn the methods and madness that went into creating those games. Last part was business heavy, but overall a good story.

Excellent details give color to what you already know.

If you play and follow gaming, none of this will shock you, The level of detail and first hand accounts of the Blizzard story are fascinating and were well worth the price for me. Well written, I have listened to all of Jason’s books and this is my favorite.

Fantastic Narrator

I’ve assumed that I was too stupid for audiobooks for a while. I have pretty high reading comprehension, but audiobooks…I struggle to pay attention for more than 15 seconds. Or so I thought??? I found this audiobook EXTREMELY listenable. The narrator has fantastic diction, and varies his tone constantly. As an example, you can tell when he’s reading a quote, because he had a distinct “quote read” voice; this makes the audiobook a lot easier to understand!

The book itself is kind of a hoot. The author finds the narrative threads and keeps it interesting. I found myself vocalizing IRL many times in shock at something that he revealed. I’m not a certified elite gamer, but the book is definitely enhanced by some surface level knowledge of video games. For example, I’ve never played a Diablo, but when the book mentions they started working on Diablo 3 all the way back in 2000, I was like…oh no lol.

I think this book could become a future classic, too. Compare Blizzard to companies like Boeing or Blackberry - there are obvious lessons to be learned, despite the fact that we seem to keep not learning them. This book is a great reference of how and why the video game industry goes sour, but the pattern echoes across all engineering and technology companies.

Interesting

Interesting but not as revelatory as expected - perhaps I keep up too much with games news and media though.

Schreier with another home run

Another phenomenal book by Jason Schreier exploring the world of game development. In-depth and riveting, I’ve listened to it three times

Incredible story!

I remember when I first played Warcraft 2 multiplayer and it blew preteen mind. I remember the absolute disappointment after Diablo 3 and I remember thinking that I wouldn’t be playing any more Blizzard games.

But after this incredible book I have hope for what was once my favorite game studio.

Great insight. Worth a read for any gamer.

A great example of how corporate greed flows into a company and sucks the life out of it until it is ruined. Apply this same formula to any company and you can almost predict how bad a company will get.

Great book. Great reporting.

Great story

Probably my favorite book from the author. A great telling of the story of Blizzard from its foundation to today.