Blizzard Entertainment may be in the process of being sold, but they’re still acquiring their own properties, including a new studio.
The company announced this week that they have purchased the Boston-based studio Proletariat, which they have done in a move to help with content and other services related to World Of Warcraft. The company is primarily known for its spellcasting battle royale game, Spellbreak, but has primarily served as a developer for other titles since it was founded.
Proletariat began working with the World of Warcraft development team back in May, and the plan is to fully integrate the company into the fold over the next few months. But what exactly they will be in charge of for WoW is unclear, and it wouldn’t surprise us if they were rebranded when the transition is finished. Here’s a few quotes about the deal.
“We are putting players at the forefront of everything we do, and we are working hard to both meet and exceed their expectations,” said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “A critical part of taking care of players is taking care of our teams—making sure we have the resources to produce experiences our communities will love while giving our teams space to explore even more creative opportunities within their projects. Proletariat is a perfect fit for supporting Blizzard’s mission in bringing high-quality content to our players more often.”
“We are incredibly excited to be joining Blizzard Entertainment,” said Proletariat co-founder and CEO, Seth Sivak. “Our team has always strived to put players first, and in working with the World of Warcraft team, we have learned that we are completely aligned in our commitments to innovation, quality, investing in our talent, authentic communication, and representation—both in and out of the games we make. World of Warcraft is one of the most influential games ever made and we can’t wait to be a part of that legacy and to help build an even brighter future for Azeroth.”
“We are proud to be working with Proletariat as we further expand our development team and build towards welcoming more players into the Warcraft universe,” said John Hight, general manager of the Warcraft franchise. “We’ve been listening to our community and making great changes to World of Warcraft based on their feedback—bringing the talented Proletariat team into the fold allows us to explore even more ways we can surprise and delight players who call Azeroth home.”
