Blizzard Entertainment – Video games and interactive entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment — origin, production, and ownership

Blizzard Entertainment began in 1991 in the United States as Silicon & Synapse, founded by Allen Adham, Michael Morhaime, and Frank Pearce. The company adopted the Blizzard Entertainment name in the early 1990s and grew into a major developer and publisher of PC and console games, best known for franchises such as Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Hearthstone.

Blizzard’s main creative and development operations have historically been based in the United States (headquartered in Irvine, California), but the company also maintains studios, teams, and partner operations in multiple countries. As a result, game development, testing, publishing, localization, and distribution are performed across a global footprint — primarily in the U.S., but also in other regions depending on the title and function.

From a corporate-ownership perspective, Blizzard Entertainment operated as an independent studio for many years before becoming part of the Activision Blizzard group. In 2023, Microsoft Corporation completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard; Blizzard now functions as a studio within the Activision Blizzard organization under Microsoft’s ownership. The ultimate owner is Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA.

In summary: Blizzard Entertainment is a U.S.-origin video game developer and publisher with global development and distribution activities. The brand originated from Silicon & Synapse in the U.S., and its ultimate corporate owner is Microsoft Corporation, while Blizzard itself operates as a studio/subsidiary under the Activision Blizzard umbrella.