"Mike, World of Warcraft has to be represented by our Facebook Games, and you know, there's no better partner in China than our Facebook Games. ”

Brian said sincerely to Blizzard Studios boss Mike Mowmi.

The two of them are also old colleagues, and Brian has also worked under Mike Mowami for many years, so Brian didn't come around the bush and directly said his thoughts.

"Brian, why don't you keep doing it yourself, oh oh, I know, you started working on those damn online games last year and all failed, didn't you? Haha, I advised you at the beginning, when it comes to making games, how can South Korea compare to our Europe and the United States. But you just didn't listen to my advice and had to go there to introduce games, and now the company has been acquired. Mike Mowymi said with a smile.

This was a bit heart-wrenching, and Brian retorted unconvinced: "Mike, times have changed! Don't underestimate those game companies in South Korea, look at the hottest online games in China now, legends, miracles, no matter how you belittle such games, but they can make money! Make a lot of money! This is a good game." ”

Mike Mowymi smiled contemptuously and stretched out his index finger and shook it, "No, no, games are an art! Look at the games produced by Blizzard, which can not only achieve commercial success, but also bring a different gaming experience to players, this kind of game can be called a work of art." What legendary miracle you are talking about, I have also tried to play, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a fast food game, without any depth and artistic sense! After the World of Warcraft that the studio is developing comes out, you will understand what a large-scale online game is!"

Brian admits this, World of Warcraft is not a new game, this game has been established for several years, and it is rumored that it has been done for ten years!

Of course, Brian knows the inside story and knows that it didn't take that long, but it's been eight years since the project was established.

In eight years, the game created is a god-level game studio like Blizzard, and the quality can be imagined.

It's a pity that he didn't have the opportunity to represent this game, of course, now at Facebook Games, it can be regarded as an agent in another way.

"Alright, old man, let's stop talking about art, let's talk about real business. On behalf of Facebook Games, I would like to formally apply to represent the World of Warcraft continent region. Brian said earnestly.

This is also the most important purpose of his coming over this time, to win the agency of World of Warcraft!

Talking about business, Mike Mohuaimi also became serious, World of Warcraft is the most important project of Blizzard Studios in the next few years, and he certainly will not be sloppy.

However, how World of Warcraft operates may not be up to him.

............

At the beginning of 2003, Blizzard was still in power by the two founders, Mike Mohuaimi and Alan Adhan.

In the global gaming circle, there are quite a lot of people who don't know what Blizzard entrepreneurs have experienced, and an important reason is that Blizzard has always been reluctant to use the media to hype itself.

In 1998, Alan Adhan resigned as president and became chairman of the company's board of directors, with Mike Mowymi taking over as president. As a consultant, Alan Adhan wanted to have enough time to get back into game design.

However, there is an interesting phenomenon, that is, the news of Alan Adhan's resignation did not have any repercussions among players, let alone reduce the good impression of Blizzard, and many players are not even aware of the changes in Blizzard's top management.

One simple reason is that no one outside of Blizzard employees really knows who Alan Adhan is and what he does.

There are countless players around the globe who are obsessed with Diablo, Warcraft, and StarCraft. However, the vast majority of players don't know who the makers of these games are!

"We love game design, but we need to focus on the product!" "The joy of developing a game is enough for Blizzard entrepreneurs to avoid any temptation from the outside world, and this passion for dedication to their cause keeps them silent, and even largely closed off from the outside world. At Blizzard, everyone from the boss to the employees keeps a low profile, and the company's doors are rarely open to the outside world, and the entire energy of Blizzard people is focused only on their own careers.

This is in stark contrast to the strange phenomenon that some company owners are more famous than their company's products.

It was when Mike Mowami and Alan Adhan were in power that Blizzard was the real Blizzard and was put on the altar by players.

However, the development of Blizzard is not so smooth, most players only know Blizzard, but they don't know that Blizzard was acquired and resold several times in the past nine years, and in 2003, the parent company behind it was called Vivendi.

In 1994, Blizzard was acquired by distributor Davidson & Associates.

In 1996, Shell Hill and Davidson & Associates were acquired by CUternational.

In 1998, Shell Hill and Davidson & Associates were sold to Hawass News Agency.

In the same year, Havas News Agency was acquired by Vivendi, and then Blizzard and Shirashan became Vivendi's younger brothers.

As for Vivendi, it is notorious in the industry.

I don't know how many well-known game companies have died in its hands, and if history does not change, just this year, 2003, the four original founders of Blizzard will fall out completely with the parent company Vivendi.

In 2003, due to disagreement with Vivendi, the four founders of Northern Blizzard resigned collectively, causing an uproar in the industry. These four founders are also the core creators of the "Diablo" series of games, so they are also known as the "Diablo Four". This year, a total of 30 employees left Northern Blizzard. In 2005, Blizzard announced the closure of Northern Blizzard, and Northern Blizzard's ongoing project, Diablo 3, was postponed.

When it comes to Vivendi, many people may be relatively unfamiliar, but the origin of this company is not simple.

Vivendi is one of the world's eight largest media conglomerates, including music, television, film, publishing, telecommunications, Internet and games. In addition to games, its subsidiary, Universal Music, is the world's largest record label, with more than 25% of the global music market share, and in terms of movies, Universal Pictures, which once controlled one of Hollywood's eight major studios.

This giant, which has a history of more than 100 years, is very legendary in its own right. In 1853, Napoleon III, Emperor of the Second French Empire, personally signed a decree to establish the "General Water Company", the predecessor of Vivendi.

Since 1980, General Water has been expanding its business categories through acquisitions, initially related to the water environment, such as waste treatment and sewage irrigation, and then gradually spread to energy, logistics, construction and other major categories. Basically, which industries are hot, or which industries have favorable policies, buy companies in which industries. Their earliest foray into the tertiary sector was in 1983 when they helped establish AL+, France's first pay television station.

The company later stepped up its foray into the telecommunications and media industries. At this time, the company's business categories have been varied, and the word "water" as a company name is no longer suitable

In 1998, General Water changed its name to the familiar "Vivendi".

This year was also the year they came into the gamer's field of vision - Blizzard and Snow Mountain were under his command.

............

"Old man, this thing ...... I probably can't help you much. Mike Mowmi shook his head and whispered.

Brian was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Mike, is something going on?" You are the president of Blizzard, and it's not up to you to decide who the agent is?"

Mike Mowmi smiled, twisted his bloated body to open the refrigerator and brought two cans of cold Coke, and handed Brian a can.

"Bang!" he opened the can of Coke and poured it down more than half in one go, burping in satisfaction.

Then he said: "You know, Blizzard's parent company is Vivendi, this damn French rooster! They only have money in their eyes, and they don't care what games or developments! Recently, Alan and I met with Vivendi for a few meetings, and there are great differences between the two sides about the future development of Blizzard. Vivendi, for their part, was also unhappy with us, saying that Blizzard was too slow to make games. Damn, do they think games are industrial products, and can they make high-quality games on the assembly line......?

"So what?" asked Brian hurriedly.

"So, I've had a private conversation with Allen, and it's likely that I'm leaving Blizzard in the near future. Mike Mowymi said frankly.

Brian and he are old acquaintances, and if he wants to leave Blizzard, there is no constraint on him, so it doesn't matter whether he keeps it secret or not.

This scared Brian by the fact that if Mike and Alan were both gone, could this Blizzard still be called a Blizzard?

You know, these two people are the soul of Blizzard.

From Dark to Warcraft to Interstellar, these three Blizzard's god-level IPs were all made under the leadership of these two founders.

"Is there no room for redemption? Blizzard is the brainchild of you and Allen, so you just gave up?" asked Brian, staring at Mike Mowmi tightly.

"Hey...... If there is the slightest possibility, how can we think of leaving. Since Blizzard was first acquired, it was destined to no longer belong to me and Allen, and now I regret selling the stake in the first place. Mike Mowymi said with a wry smile.

He and Alan may be the simplest and most persistent game producers, with a high IQ but a low EQ.

When they had just made some achievements, they were fooled by the capital, saying that they would give them the greatest autonomy and the most sufficient funds, and fully support them to make a good game in the world, so they fooled the two and handed over the controlling stake of the company directly......