'blizzard

Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images Since its formation in 2017, the Overwatch League—the professional esports program for Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch hero shooter—has drawn frequent comparisons to traditional sporting institutions. Its stated aim, as WIRED put it in a 2017 feature, was to become the new US National Football League. The two institutions certainly overlapped: The…

Almost 60 video game employees at Activision Blizzard on Tuesday said they have filed for union representation, according to a report from Bloomberg. Workers at the Boston-based Proletariat video game studio, which was acquired by Activision Blizzard earlier this year, said they're organizing with the Communications Workers of America to form a union that includes "designers,…

Target workers in Buffalo hosted stranded shoppers and motorists during a deadly storm. Around 24 people took shelter from the storm in the Target over two days, The Buffalo News reported. Buffalo was hit by a snowstorm over the Christmas weekend that left at least 27 people dead.  Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing…

A massive snowstorm in Buffalo has caused the NFL to move Sunday's Bills and Browns game to Detroit. On Friday, the Bills shared photos of Highmark Stadium buried in snow. The Bills Mafia shared reaction to the announcement on Twitter and pitched in to help Bills players. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up!…

Enlarge / Artist's rendition of an Activision staffer on the lookout for Modern Warfare II players without linked phone numbers on their accounts. Players who want access to this month's release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will have to link a unique, text-capable phone number to their Battle.net account. That's according to a…

Enlarge / Overwatch 2 characters offer varied reactions based on whether or not they are now exempt from Blizzard's "SMS Protect" system. Blizzard has partially walked back a controversial policy that required Overwatch 2 players to confirm a valid mobile phone number to play the game. Now, players "with a connected Battle.net account"—a group Blizzard…

Enlarge / Artist's conception of Blizzard fighting off DDoS attackers. When a highly anticipated online game launches, unforeseen server capacity issues and long entry queues are nothing out of the ordinary. In the case of this week's Overwatch 2 early access launch, though, the usual crowding problems are apparently being exacerbated by coordinated distributed denial…

Naowh explains how he got to level 80 in Wrath of the Lich King Classic in just a few hours. When it comes to World of Warcraft's long-demanded "Classic" servers, players understandably want an experience that's identical to the MMO experience they remember from years ago. At least one player has taken that concept to…

Enlarge / Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. Embattled Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick told colleagues that he would consider stepping down and departing the organization if the company's deep-running sexual harassment and other cultural problems are not resolved.This is according to a Wall Street Journal report citing "people familiar with his comments." The report didn't…

Enlarge / Jen Oneal will be leaving her co-leadership position atop Blizzard after less than three months. It's been less than three months since former Vicarious Visions head Jen Oneal stepped up to co-lead Blizzard alongside Mike Ybarra, following the departure of longtime veteran J. Allen Brack. On Tuesday, though, Oneal announced her sudden departure…