Play Nice Audiobook By Jason Schreier cover art

Play Nice

The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment

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Play Nice

By: Jason Schreier
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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About this listen

From a New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist comes The Social Network for the video game industry, a riveting examination of Blizzard Entertainment's rise and shocking downfall.

For video game fans, the name Blizzard Entertainment was once synonymous with perfection. The renowned company behind classics like Diablo and World of Warcraft was known to celebrate the joy of gaming over all else. What was once two UCLA students' simple mission—to make games they wanted to play—launched an empire with thousands of employees, millions of fans, and billions of dollars.

But when Blizzard cancelled a buzzy project in 2013, it gave Bobby Kotick, the infamous CEO of corporate parent Activision, the excuse he needed to start cracking down on Blizzard's proud autonomy. Activision began invading Blizzard from the inside. Glitchy products, PR disasters, mass layoffs, and a staggering lawsuit marred the company's reputation and led to its ultimate reckoning.

Based on firsthand interviews with more than 300 current and former employees, Play Nice chronicles the creativity, frustration, beauty, and betrayal across the epic 33-year saga of Blizzard Entertainment, showing us what it really means to "bleed Blizzard blue." Full of colorful personalities and dramatic twists, this is the story of what happens when the ruthless pursuit of profit meets artistic idealism.

©2024 Jason Schreier (P)2024 Grand Central Publishing
Programming & Software Development Video Game

Critic reviews

“Here’s a thrilling adventure story from the untamed, online wilderness of modern capitalism. Think Barbarians at the Gate, but with digital dragons and blood-thirsty trolls. Gaming is now a more powerful and influential business than Hollywood, and Jason Schreier has delivered a masterful narrative that shows how the industry really works.”—Christopher Leonard, New York Times bestselling author of Kochland and The Lords of Easy Money
“A fast paced thrill ride, perfect for anyone who has ever played a video game. Jason Schreier’s comprehensive history of Blizzard Entertainment offers a completely enthralling look at the company’s founding and the bitter battle for its future. A must read!”—Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, Dumb Money, and The Midnight Ride.

"Jason Schreier's Play Nice is a riveting chronicle of one of gaming's most iconic companies. With gripping detail and unmatched access, Schreier pulls back the curtain on Blizzard Entertainment's meteoric rise, turbulent history, and struggle to balance uncompromising creativity with corporate America's unyielding pursuit of profit. Play Nice is a must-read exposé of the passion, ambition and dysfunction behind some of the most beloved games of all time."—Bradley Hope, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Billion Dollar Whale

"Jason Schreier's PLAY NICE is a gripping narrative not just of a single influential company but the evolution of the entire video game industry, changing from a niche pursuit to one of the largest cultural products in the world. This is vital reading for anyone hoping to understand the state of entertainment in the 21st century. Video games are an unavoidable force; PLAY NICE breaks down the genre as well as the personalities behind it."—Kyle Chayka, author Filterworld
"Play Nice is the ultimate insider account of the creation of some of the most beloved games ever, and a colorful portrait of the computer-game gold rush. Who knew that behind the scenes of Warcraft and Overwatch was a story of power plays, betrayals, and quests for glory as epic as the games themselves?"—Zeke Faux, author of Number Go Up

What listeners say about Play Nice

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Great insight. Worth a read for any gamer.

A great example of how corporate greed flows into a company and sucks the life out of it until it is ruined. Apply this same formula to any company and you can almost predict how bad a company will get.

Great book. Great reporting.

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Great story

Probably my favorite book from the author. A great telling of the story of Blizzard from its foundation to today.

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Fantastic write up on a legendary company

I loved every second of the dive into Blizzards history. I wish there was more on the topic of the law suits, and “insider” stories

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Another fantastic book

Jason Schrier kills it again with an exceptionally researched piece on Blizzard entertainment. The focus on one studios entire history keeps this book from feeling entirely as exciting as Jason’s previous works, but it’s still a fantastic book nonetheless.

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5 stars for the book 0 stars for Blizzard

As a life long Blizzard Game enthusiast I thought I knew the whole tea and BS That has gradually been breaking my heart. But there is so much I has no idea about and my heart is broken...

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Accurate, Entertaining and Devastating

As a lifetime fan of Blizzard and one of the 1900 laid off in Junuary 2024 I can give this book my highest praise. It is entertaining, extremely accurate but also devastating to read. It captures in detail the slow and painful erosion of the Blizzard I grew up loving. The insider details are astonishing. The writing on internal vibes myself and others experienced during the last few years working at Blizzard are pitch perfect. Schreier has truly created a historical document with this book and I appreciate his hard work.

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Awesome

Each part came with its own emotions and I was about it. I was smiling, mad, sad and everything in between.

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Informative

As a fan of video games, its easy to get lost in the comment section of Youtube, Twitter, etc. People will look at the current state of their beloved video game IPs and try to point fingers at whose fault it is that the product is failing. Its refreshing to get the information directly from the source. Things are never as black and white as we would like to believe.

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Interesting insight

As a fan of some of their games, I found this book very interesting. Especially with all the bad press and Microsoft takeover not so long ago.

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Loved it! Amazing story behind the epic company, craziness and all

Jason does a great job of detailing this industry in a way few others do. Highly recommend this book, and all his others

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