World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

Teach us, oh Blizzard!

Colin Stewart of Inside Innovation takes a look at 11 lessons people should take away from Blizzard's wildly successful World of Warcraft.

This combination of creativity and profitability is much of the reason for the upcoming merger of game company Activision with Blizzard’s parent company, Vivendi Games. The new company, to be called Activision Blizzard, will be valued at about $18.9 billion.

The following lineup of innovation lessons emerged from a video game conference, an interview, and several experts’ comments.

Blizzard executives discussed the company’s innovation processes during the D.I.C.E. video game conference last month in Las Vegas. Then, in early March, World of Warcraft lead producer J. Allen Brack explained his teams’ work methods during an interview at Blizzard’s new headquarters in Irvine. I also invited several business and innovation experts in Orange County to comment on how Blizzard works and how it and other creative enterprises such as the Walt Disney Co. innovate to keep their customers interested.

Read it at Inside Innovation.