Six months after its acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, it appears to be business as usual at Blizzard, said Holly Longdale, executive producer and vice president of World of Warcraft, in an interview with VGC, said that being under Microsoft's umbrella was "helpful anyway," and that so far the new owners are dealing with a light touch.

"We spent some time with Helen Chang from Mojang and shared information with her. We spoke with the Elder Scrolls Online team and were able to share what we're up to and what's going well."

"No one is asking us for anything, World of Warcraft is doing very well and they are very proud of what it has accomplished. They are very collaborative, and Blizzard is just being Blizzard.

Longdale's statement coincides with Microsoft's hands-off approach to Bethesda Softworks, which was acquired in 2021, but a few years later, a reorganization of Xbox studios led to ZeniMax and its subsidiary studios, including Bethesda, becoming Xbox Game Content & Studios This approach appeared to have come to an end when the company was placed under the direct control of Matt Booty, president in charge. At least part of this turnaround is believed to have been due to the debacle of the co-op shooter "Redfall," which Microsoft reportedly left unattended despite the Arkane developers' desire to either restart or cancel the project.

A similar scene may be unfolding at Bungie, the "Destiny" studio acquired by Sony in 2022. Bungie was initially entrusted to operate as an "independent subsidiary," but the recent struggles of "Destiny 2" have put pressure on the company: in February, PlayStation chairman Hiroki Toki said he wanted Bungie's leadership to be more "accountable" for development budgets and schedules. He has said that if things do not improve, Bungie's operational independence could be terminated.

Whether or not the proverbial Sword of Damocles is hanging over Blizzard's head right now, the fact that Microsoft has already made significant changes to Blizzard cannot be overlooked. Activision Blizzard has suffered layoffs throughout Microsoft's gaming division, and more notably, Blizzard's much-publicized 2022 survival game--which at the time Blizzard described as "a journey into a whole new universe," "heroes yet to be seen, stories yet to be told, a adventure-filled place" - was summarily canceled, despite six years of development and, by all reports, exciting potential.

Of course, "Let Blizzard be Blizzard" is another statement that can be interpreted in many ways. As an old-timer, I have fond memories of this scrappy studio that did so well in the mid-90s with Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft, but in recent years, thanks to questionable decisions and allegations of widespread workplace misconduct at the company that led to the departure of several prominent developers, the bloom has largely has fallen from the rose. The ABK Workers Alliance, an organization of employees formed in the wake of a civil rights lawsuit against the company, actually thanked Microsoft for not letting Blizzard be like Blizzard after it signed a "labor neutrality agreement" with the Communications Workers of America in 2022.

After all, Blizzard is Blizzard, to the extent that it has a number of big games worthwhile in its name, and I have no doubt that Microsoft will be willing to allow them to keep the clock ticking as long as they are printing money - after all of his job is to ensure that Xbox is a "profitable growth business," as Phil Spencer himself said earlier this year. "I don't know if this is Microsoft's decision, Bethesda's direction, or if Dinga Bakaba is a big fan, but given that Arkane, the company behind "Dark Messiah," "Dishonored," "Prey," and others, is working on licensed games for Blade after all In the end, I strongly suspect that Blizzard will be at Microsoft's will.