Play Nice
The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment
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Narrated by:
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Ray Chase
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By:
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Jason Schreier
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 PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"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
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In this fascinating book, investigative reporter Yasha Levine uncovers the secret origins of the Internet, tracing it back to a Pentagon counterinsurgency surveillance project. With deep research, skilled storytelling, and provocative arguments, Surveillance Valley will change the way you think about the news - and the device on which you read it.
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Profound look at the internet and surveillance
- By stuartjash on 04-06-18
By: Yasha Levine
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Nice but shallow
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Significant Zero
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When his satirical musings in a college newspaper got him discharged from the Air Force, it became clear to Walt Williams that his destiny in life was to be a writer - he just never thought he'd end up writing video games, let alone working on some of the most successful franchises in the industry - Bioshock, Civilization, Borderlands, and Mafia, among others. Williams pulls back the curtain on an astonishingly profitable industry that has put its stamp on pop culture and yet is little known to those outside its walls.
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it's a bad autobiography not what the title says
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What listeners say about Play Nice
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- Jesse Gabriel
- 10-23-24
Great book
I wish the story was a bit more concise. There is a lot of disjointed moments
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- Chris Long
- 11-20-24
Fascinating
Incredible insight into the history of one of the most influential game companies. The things you may think you know are given new context. Jason did it again, and I’m so very thankful for that
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- Paul Warren
- 11-11-24
More excellent documentation of the industry
I wish it had been longer, but trust that Jason Schreier included everything worth reporting and clearly he had some good sources.
The book does rely on pretty strong knowledge of the games industry to contextualize HOW MUCH of a impact Blizzard had on the genre so I guess I also would have liked more of where developers went after Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, etc. or how other developers adjusted to their best in class games up until the free to play era where things seemed to lose shape for them.
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- Tom Duval
- 10-10-24
Excellent reporting
Jason makes another excellent edition to his stable of books. As a long time Blizzard fan, I especially enjoyed the inside baseball presented in this book. So many great quotes and stories put together from all the Blizzard people over the years. I love his reporting and how he presented everything.
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- Arsen Nazaryan
- 11-07-24
The history of Blizzard with important context from interviews
I expected it to be more sensationalist than it ended up being, and that’s a good thing. I think it tells the story of Blizzard with journalistic integrity and respect for the truth and the unknowns, and I appreciated that. An easy and interesting listen, read well by Ray Chase.
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- Self conscious NPC
- 10-26-24
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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- Doug C
- 10-29-24
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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- M. Mardini
- 12-10-24
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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- Anonymous User
- 11-01-24
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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- Gigi Earnest-Stippich
- 01-08-25
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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