Blizzard North
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Formerly called
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Condor |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founders |
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| Defunct | 2005 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California, U.S. |
| Products | Justice League Task Force, Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction |
| Website | www |
Blizzard North was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for its Diablo series. The studio was originally based in Redwood City, California, before moving a short distance away to San Mateo, with Blizzard proper being based in Irvine, southern California.
Blizzard North was founded in 1993 under the name Condor by David Brevik, Erich Schaefer and Max Schaefer at the request of Brevik. David Brevik served as the president of the company between 1993-2003, while the Schaefer brothers held the Vice President positions in the company. The company was purchased and renamed as Blizzard North by Blizzard Entertainment's former owner Davidson & Associates about nine months before the release of their hit PC game Diablo in 1996. However, Blizzard North hold complete autonomy from Blizzard Entertainment while David Brevik and the Schaefer brothers continued to manage the company respectively as the President and Vice Presidents.Diablo was highly successful, and its 2000 sequel Diablo II even more so. An expansion pack, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, followed the year after.
By June 2003 two new games were in production. The first game in production was Blizzard North's version of Diablo III which later was scrapped and restarted by Blizzard Entertainment. The second game was Diablo-like game which would take place in space. On June 30, however, several key employees left Blizzard North to form two new companies. Eight moved to form Flagship Studios, including Blizzard North founder and president David Brevik, the Schaefer brothers and Bill Roper who was transferred from Blizzard Entertainment to Blizzard North in late 1996. Another nine employees left to form Castaway Entertainment. By the time the exodus concluded, around 30 employees had left the company.
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Wikipedia