Giant Leak Reveals Blizzard's Everything

Company GM Resigns

Dec 4 2010, 10:13pm CST | by Robert Evans

Giant Leak Reveals Blizzard's Everything

You'd think having the hottest MMORPG in the world would make life pretty easy. But millions of subscribers and all the monthly fees in the land can't stop clever ninjas. A massive internal leak has revealed Blizzard's release schedule for the next four years. The leak also included financial records, TV marketing budget data, subscriber information and the exact shade of red used on the towels in the executive washroom.

Blizzard China is the suspected origin of the leak. General Manager Ye Weilun was fired immediately after. No reason was given, but the implicit connection is hard to ignore. The calendar, pictured above, reveals two expansions to Diablo 3, along with Starcraft 2 Phoenix (Q4 2011) and the existence of WOW 4 and 5. These are likely two post-Cataclysm expansion packs.

A completely new game, Titan, is also noted as due in Q4 2014. Further details about the title remain obscure to all but Blizzard's top minds and the dark lord Cthulhu (he's a huge Diablo fan).

Marbridge Daily recently heard from an "industry source" that Ye Weilun's "departure" had actually been planned ahead of the leaks. Blizzard HQ still apparently suspects their Chinese branch. They have "ordered a full investigation" and :"will consider changes to the China office staff".

Which will mean even more restructuring for the already-shaken branch.

Blizzard has also struggled recently with cheaters in their latest title, the long-awaited Starcraft 2. They lead off with 5,000 bans, and this week launched another purge of players "in violation of the Battle.net Terms of Use for cheating and/or using hack programs while playing,"

The company is also going to battle in Korea. A recent exclusivity deal has lead to several Korean networks broadcasting Starcraft battles without permission from Blizzard. The networks claim that Starcraft is public domain. Blizzard says that is ridiculous, since the game requires constant balancing and development by a paid team.

Updates

Padres victims of Santana gem in 9-0 loss at Mets

Source: San Diego Local News 1

New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy (28) tags out San Diego Padres' Blake Tekotte (9) before throwing out Chris Denorfia for a double play during the ninth inning of a baseball game May 26, 2012, in New York. ...
Full article at: San Diego Local News 1 More like this 17 minutes ago

Letters to Insight, May 27

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Dear San Francisco: Has anyone told you lately what an amazing city you are? Or that the people that inhabit you are your pulse? If I were musically inclined, I'd write a song for you. And I would set the rhythm and tempo to your ...
Full article at: San Francisco Chronicle More like this 47 minutes ago

Lenovo adds sharpens its Edge with Ivy Bridge

Source: Gadget Guy

More computers are on the way from the professional computer brand Lenovo, and they’re bringing a burst of Intel’s speed in spades. Two new machines have been announced from Lenovo, the same company that last year brought us the ThinkPad ...
Full article at: Gadget Guy More like this 58 minutes ago

where to buy

Buy from Amazon

Don't miss ...

Gaming

New Xbox to be unveiled at E3 2012?

Robert Evans
The excitement about new smartphones, tablets and anything mobile drive Robert to unearth the latest rumors and developments in this fast moving space. He adopted 4G as soon as it become available and knows where the mobile market is going.
Robert can be contacted directly at robert@i4u.com.