Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment Hardcover – October 8, 2024

“Play Nice” offers an enjoyable deep dive into the tumultuous history of Blizzard Entertainment, chronicling its journey from a ragtag group of brilliant college students to its evolution under corporate ownership and its current state. Schreier provides fascinating insights into the antics of Blizzard’s early employees, showcasing their outlandish attitudes, relentless work ethic, and tight-knit camaraderie.The book explores how Blizzard transitioned from a company renowned for producing high-quality, polished games that left competitors in the dust to one struggling to preserve its heart and soul amid mounting corporate pressures. While the corporate side and C-suite executives are often cast in a negative light, Schreier thoughtfully examines the motivations behind their decisions, offering perspectives from all levels of the company—from executives and middle management to QA testers. This balanced approach provides a refreshing take, avoiding oversimplified blame and instead considering multiple sides of the story.And while it’s easy to villainize the suits in the boardroom, Schreier does a great job showing why some decisions were made. From executives to QA testers, he pulls back the curtain to reveal a mess of perspectives, reminding us that every bad decision has some kind of reason behind it (even if it’s still a bad decision).The book also revisits the scandals that put some serious smudges on Blizzard’s reputation, offering new angles and fresh commentary. As someone who once lived for Blizzard games—cheering at Overwatch League matches and losing entire weekends to Diablo marathons—I can’t help but root for Blizzard to find its way back to glory. And hey, if it means waiting another decade for their next masterpiece, so be it. It’s done when it’s done.

Positive:"Play Nice" by Jason Schreier is a fun, eye-opening dive into the highs and lows of Blizzard Entertainment. Schreier does a fantastic job unpacking the tension between Blizzard's creative magic and the corporate pressures that started to shift the company’s culture, especially after its merger with Activision. It's filled with juicy insider stories that give you a sense of what it’s really like to work at a powerhouse game studio. For any gamer or industry enthusiast, it’s a fascinating look behind the curtain that also feels relatable for anyone who's had their passion collide with corporate demands.Negative:On the downside, the book sometimes gets a bit repetitive. Schreier really drills in on the company's struggles with work-life balance and workplace culture, which are important but can feel like they’re hitting the same notes over and over. And while the insider jargon adds authenticity, it can be a little hard to keep up if you’re not already familiar with game dev lingo. But honestly, these are minor gripes in what’s otherwise a great read about the complex, often messy reality of making games.

This was a great read! I was hooked after the sample and it delivered all the way. You could feel the different threads of controversy and pain being sewn at the beginning, and the author kept the themes, timelines, and people relevant at all times.The footnotes kept getting more and more insightful. I think adding a visual timeline of big corp changes like departures, releases, and acquisitions as a reference would have been helpful.It is hard to decompose every technical aspect that goes into game design, profitability/finance, and engagement. Readers shouldn’t expect to get into the nitty gritty of old Blizzard engines or the computational metrics of game design. It is more than surface level but not overwhelming.Actual 5/5

A good book, nicely written, well researched and most of all truly entertaining. Also very enlightening about everything they went on behind the doors of one of the most beloved but at the same time hated companies in the world. Truly recommended reading if you are a gamer and specially if this happened during your time. Must buy and must read.

With loads of primary and secondary sources at his disposal, the author does a wonderful job exploring the history of this influential video game maker. Following history specific to the company as well as for the industry overall, the reader gets a fine perspective for how Blizzard rose to prominence despite its rocky beginning (and middle and future). There’s also plenty of scoops and gossip that keep the pages turning, plus some hilarious (as well as troubling) anecdotes about the company’s culture. Overall, the book is an interesting study about how talent, creativity, and hubris can sometimes combine to create a monster (and not just the pixel kind).

As a former game dev at Blizzard I was cautiously optimistic about hearing insights into a company I had worked at. Having interviewed for the book, it was interesting to see how the things I had witnessed made it in, or didn't. There were events at Blizzard that were a mystery to me, but thanks to Play Nice I can understand more about the rumors and back room tales that didn't make much sense to me when I heard them.It's an enjoyable read, and a fantastic look at the phenomenon I call Corporate Necrosis. The gradual degradation of the established culture that made Blizzard great, slowly falling apart as Kotick and his minions vomit acid onto award winning franchises and suck up the profit juice, leaving gaping holes in their reputation. A poignant cautionary tale to future game development studios considering selling out.