Blizzard North is a division of Blizzard Entertainment known for creating the Diablo series of games . The studio was founded in Redwood ( California ), and then relocated to San Mateo (California) , while Blizzard Entertainment's head office was located in Irvine .
| Blizzard north | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Base | 1993 (as Condor) |
| Abolished | 2005 |
| Location |  USA : San Mateo (California) |
| Key figures | Max Schaefer Eric Schaefer David Brevik |
| Industry | game development |
| Products | Justice League Task Force , Diablo , Diablo II , Diablo II: Lord of Destruction |
| Parent company | |
| Site | www.blizzard.com |
History
In 1993, Condor , a computer game company, was founded by Max Shefer, Eric Shefer, and David Brevik. In 1995, the world saw their first game - Justice League Task Force . In 1996, about nine months before the release of the future Diablo , the company was bought by Blizzard Entertainment and renamed Blizzard North. In 2000, the studio released the continuation of a successful game - Diablo II , and even a year later - an addition to it Lord of Destruction .
In 2000, Mike O'Brien , Patrick Wyatt and Jeff Strain left the company, who later founded ArenaNet. [1]
In June 2003, two new games were under development, however, by June 30, several key employees had left Blizzard North to form new companies: Flagship Studios and Castaway Entertainment . About thirty employees left the company. The layoffs were partly due to a conflict with the owner of Blizzard Entertainment - Vivendi , partly due to the desire of employees to create something new. The departure of the developers had typical consequences - one of the projects was closed.
On August 1, 2005, Blizzard Entertainment announced the closure of the Blizzard North division due to poor performance and, in particular, the slow development of the game Diablo III [1] . Subsequently, the names of three former Blizzard North employees appeared in the credits of the 2007 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade , and the work of Froilan Gardner, the artist of the abolished company, was reflected in the 2006 World of Warcraft Trading Card Game board card game. Upper Deck Company .
Several Diablo employees, including Eric Sexton, Michio Okamura, and Stephen Wu, founded their own company, Hyboreal Games . [2] .
Games
How Condor
- NFL Quarterback Club '95 ( 1994 ) - Portable Versions
- Justice League Task Force ( 1995 )
- NFL Quarterback Club '96 (1995)
How Blizzard North
- Diablo ( 1996 ) - an action-oriented computer role-playing game
- Diablo II ( 2000 ) - an action-oriented computer role-playing game
- Diablo II: Lord of Destruction ( 2001 ) - expansion
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Nomad . Blizzard North goes south , AG (08/02/2005). Date of treatment December 19, 2011.
- ↑ Hyboreal Games Q&A (English) (unavailable link) . Shacknews . Archived on October 17, 2006.
Links
- Blizzard North GameSpot. Archived on March 28, 2012.