★★★★★ 5
From Pixels to Problems! Great read!
Format: Hardcover
“Play Nice” offers an enjoyable deep dive into the tumultuous history of Blizzard Entertainment, chronicling its journey from a ragtag group of brilliant college students to its evolution under corporate ownership and its current state. Schreier provides fascinating insights into the antics of Blizzard’s early employees, showcasing their outlandish attitudes, relentless work ethic, and tight-knit camaraderie.
The book explores how Blizzard transitioned from a company renowned for producing high-quality, polished games that left competitors in the dust to one struggling to preserve its heart and soul amid mounting corporate pressures. While the corporate side and C-suite executives are often cast in a negative light, Schreier thoughtfully examines the motivations behind their decisions, offering perspectives from all levels of the company—from executives and middle management to QA testers. This balanced approach provides a refreshing take, avoiding oversimplified blame and instead considering multiple sides of the story.
And while it’s easy to villainize the suits in the boardroom, Schreier does a great job showing why some decisions were made. From executives to QA testers, he pulls back the curtain to reveal a mess of perspectives, reminding us that every bad decision has some kind of reason behind it (even if it’s still a bad decision).
The book also revisits the scandals that put some serious smudges on Blizzard’s reputation, offering new angles and fresh commentary. As someone who once lived for Blizzard games—cheering at Overwatch League matches and losing entire weekends to Diablo marathons—I can’t help but root for Blizzard to find its way back to glory. And hey, if it means waiting another decade for their next masterpiece, so be it. It’s done when it’s done.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2025
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