Battle.net Is Dead, Long Live Battle.net

We’re going to be transitioning away from using the Battle.net name for our gaming service and the functionality connected to it. Battle.net technology will continue to serve as the central nervous system for Blizzard games—nothing is changing in that regard. We’ll just be referring to it as Blizzard tech instead. You’ve already seen this recently with things like “Blizzard Streaming” and “Blizzard Voice,” and more changes are on the way. -Blizzard

That’s all folks. Blizz is ready to say goodbye to the Battle.net branding that they’ve used as their online gaming  platform since ’96. Blizz is assuring that nothing about Battle.net is changing except the name, which is great – since the service itself works fucking great (aside from when dickheads decide to DDoS it). Two decades (!) ago, Battle.net went live with the launch of the original Diablo, and brought gamers tons of in-game online features that were previously unavailable. Today, Battle.net technology is still at the heart of all of Blizzard’s games – most of which rely on internet connectivity to play.

In their official release, Blizzard says that their original idea for Battle.net was so novel and so unique that it simply needed its own name to fully articulate to gamers how incredibly revolutionary it was. Unfortunately, Blizz says they’ve experienced confusion among their users between Blizzard and Battle.net, which is why they’re re-branding. Built-in multiplayer is no longer a fantasy or foreign concept, so Blizzard says they don’t feel the need to maintain the individual name for the service. It’s very likely that Battle.net’s rebranding will probably just fold it into Blizzard’s website, but it’s something they say will take place over a few months, so you’ve still got some time to snuggle up to the nostalgic day-long marathons playing Diablo online with your buddies back in middle school.

Now, if you need me, I’ll be bringing my iMac over to Chris’ house to have a lan party. Instead of Mountain Dew and Doritos we’re prolly gonna be deleting Miller High Lifes and cheesecake brownies because we’re fuckin’ ADULTS now.

What’s your fondest memory of Battle.net? Take trips down memory lane with us on Twitter at @WickedGoodGames.