The sad thing is that all of this is so short sighted from a business standard. I’ve been running a company for over a decade now, and I understand it’s not easy and hindsight is 20/20, but honestly Blizzard is making some of the most baffling choices that really shoot themselves in the foot in a very… Obvious way?
They won’t ‘fail’ simply because now Blizzard is a part of Activision, and they’re a massive company so even if they stop posting record breaking profits (as they did the year they fired 800 blizz employees and then started hiring back younger people with less pay and bennies for the same positions, mind you) they will be able to get loans and other things that keep them afloat, so it’s important not to look at Blizzard’s financial state as the only thing that implies their success or failure.
Personally I see their audience and fan engagement as their success or failure, because for as long as computer games have been around, Blizzard has been at the top of the pile.
Now? Not so much.