Blizzard Acquires Proletariat, a Boston-Based Studio, to Expand Development on World of Warcraft
Cue the duckboats, baby!
Rumored earlier this week but made official in a press release from this morning, Boston-based studio Proletariat, the creators of the super underrated battle royale Spellbreak, have been acquired by Blizzard Entertainment. Proletariat has been brought on to help bolster the development efforts of World of Warcraft, and to better support internal teams while they work to produce higher-quality content more often.
We are putting players at the forefront of everything we do, and we are working hard to both meet and exceed their expectations.
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.
Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment (BusinessWire)
Proletariat detailed their sentiments on the acquisition in an official release from their CEO, Seth Sivak – stating that they can’t wait to start working on a franchise that so closely aligns with their company’s DNA, namely in “enabling social experiences through multiplayer games in fantastical worlds”.
The second reason I am excited is the opportunity to help create, foster, and grow something amazing. As part of the World of Warcraft team, we will be able to expand the beloved world of Azeroth. We will help write new stories and deliver amazing new experiences for both current and future players. We will help grow the Blizzard organization and continue to build a diverse, caring, studio from our hub on the East Coast. We will continue to be a place where developers can do their best work and build the careers of their dreams.
Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak, THE NEXT CHAPTER
This is absolutely huge for Proletariat, and also massive for Blizzard. They get a phenomenally talented team to help shore up their ranks, reduce team-wide burnout, and add fresh and new perspectives to the development of World of Warcraft. Proletariat’s team now also gets one of the world’s biggest studios as a platform to showcase just how talented they are, and get to bring those talents to one of the most storied franchises in gaming.
I couldn’t be happier for the good folks at Proletariat, not just because they’re a hometown shop – but because great things should happen to great people, and it’s extra exciting that it’s all revolving around one of my favorite games of all time.
