Blizzard’s former CEO Mike Morhaime is making his return with the launch of Dreamhaven. A brand-new company that already has two studios under its wing.
Mike Morhaime, one of Blizzard Entertainment's co-founders, is now starting a new company that’ll probably become a direct competitor of Blizzard in one way or another. Morhaime spent the majority of his career in Blizzard, from founding it in 1991 to leaving the company in 2018. The former CEO has now gathered a whole lot of Blizzard veterans in his new Dreamhaven. Hm, wonder why he'd do that?
Sadly, the internet never forgets. Now, onto Dreamhaven! What is it all about?
Very excited to be teaming up with some amazing people to start a new adventure! https://t.co/wyvgx2fP3l
— Mike Morhaime (@mikemorhaime) September 23, 2020
In the official announcement, Morhaime commented:
I’m excited to team up with such talented people who care deeply about games and their communities. I’ve always believed in the power of games to bring people together regardless of backgrounds or boundaries. With Dreamhaven, we look forward to creating and sharing new experiences with players everywhere.
Dreamhaven will serve as a publisher and parent company while also supporting their developers. The organization already has two studios with it – Moonshot Games and Secret Door.
Moonshot Games
Moonshot Games is led by Jason Chayes, Dustin Browder, and Ben Thompson. Chayes was previously an executive producer at Blizzard Entertainment. Browder worked as game director for StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm, Command and Conquer and The Lord of the Rings. Thompson was a creative director for Hearthstone and also worked on the World of Warcraft trading card game and Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.
Jason Chayes commented:
Though it’s very early days, when we think about Moonshot, we imagine a studio that celebrates curiosity and courage. We aspire to be bold in our approach, and we think the best way to do that is to create a culture centered around trust. That’s at the heart of how we’d like to work together and also how we’d like to connect with players once we’re a bit further down the road.
Secret Door
Much like Moonshot Games, Secret Door gathers a lot of veterans from Blizzard. It’s led by Chris Sigaty, Alan Dabiri, and Eric Dodds. Sigaty worked as an executive producer for Hearthstone and StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm as well as lead producer for Warcraft III. Dabiri worked as technical/game director for Warcraft III, StarCraft II, and Heroes of the Storm. Dodds was the game director for Hearthstone and a game designer for World of Warcraft and StarCraft.
Chris Sigaty had this to say:
The amount of game development and publishing experience at Dreamhaven combined with the camaraderie between our studios is already providing an unparalleled environment for creative collaboration. At Secret Door, we are passionate about bringing players together in positive ways while building a sustainable home for creators. Dreamhaven is providing everything we need to head into uncharted territory. We cannot wait for others to join us on our journey!
By the looks of it, Dreamhaven will try to rebuild what Blizzard Entertainment used to be in the past. Morhaime added:
We’re almost trying to create a haven for creators who want an environment that is development friendly, values product, and player experience over short-term financial pressures. We believe in the power of gaming to bring people together and as an escape of the unpleasant things that reality can bring. In that sense, it’s a haven as well. We like the imagery of a lighthouse as a beacon, and that inspires us because we hope that Dreamhaven can be a beacon of hope to others in the industry who share our values and philosophies. There is a better way of approaching business and game creation that can work and be sustainable and be a lot of fun and yield positive results.We’re not in a hurry to go out and get funding because the most important thing is to make sure we retain control over the company’s decision making. When we do go out and seek investment, we want to be aligned in terms of vision and values.
It won’t be much of a surprise if we see more ex-Blizzard employees joining Dreamhaven. A good guess would be Ben Brode (former lead designer for Hearthstone) who founded Second Dinner with other veterans from the company.
What do you think about Dreamhaven? Will Morhaime and the other veterans from the industry manage to surpass their ex-company? Share your opinion on our Facebook page!
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