Dreamhaven. Mike Morhaime, former CEO and Founder of Blizzard Entertainment has announced a new gaming company this morning, Dreamhaven.
The new company has two different game studios featuring veterans of Hearthstone and Blizzard. Read on for their official announcement. You can also find an article from VentureBeat on the new studios.
There is no news on what games they are currently working on, but if this is going to be the old way Blizzard used to be run, we're certain they will be fun!
Quote From Dreamhaven Irvine, CA – September 23, 2020 – Mike Morhaime, former CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, and a host of industry veterans today announced Dreamhaven, their new game company based in Irvine, CA. Dreamhaven will create and publish original games for players around the world, and it has established its first two studios: Moonshot and Secret Door.
“I’m excited to team up with such talented people who care deeply about games and their communities,” said Dreamhaven CEO Mike Morhaime. “I’ve always believed in the power of games to bring people together regardless of backgrounds or boundaries. With Dreamhaven, we look forward to creating and sharing new experiences with players everywhere.”
The team at Dreamhaven came together around a common goal to empower creators, help bring their ideas to life, and create original gaming experiences that foster meaningful connections between players.
Moonshot Games
Lead by Jason Chayes, Dustin Browder, and Ben Thompson.
Also present on the team from Hearthstone:
- Derek Sakamoto (Design) - User Interface Designer on Hearthstone
- Hadidjah Chamberlain (Senior VFX Artist) - Lead VFX Artist on Hearthstone
All other team members, found on this page, are Blizzard veterans.
Quote From Dreamhaven Moonshot is led by Jason Chayes, Dustin Browder, and Ben Thompson. Chayes was previously an Executive Producer at Blizzard Entertainment where he led the Hearthstone team, a Senior Director at Electronic Arts, and before that, led art teams for the Walt Disney Company’s game division. Browder’s twenty-five year career includes roles as Game Director on StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm, Command and Conquer, and The Lord of the Rings. Thompson’s credits include Creative Director on Hearthstone, Art Director for the World of Warcraft trading card game, with additional credits on Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Moonshot is also home to a team of seasoned developers who’ve collectively worked on some of gaming’s most popular franchises.
“Dreamhaven has assembled some amazing people, folks who truly share our values, and we’re really excited to begin this next adventure together,” said Moonshot studio head Jason Chayes. “Though it’s very early days, when we think about Moonshot, we imagine a studio that celebrates curiosity and courage. We aspire to be bold in our approach, and we think the best way to do that is to create a culture centered around trust. That’s at the heart of how we’d like to work together and also how we’d like to connect with players once we’re a bit further down the road.”
Secret Door
Lead by Chris Sigaty, Alan Dabiri, and Eric Dodds.
Also present on the team from Hearthstone:
- Jason Kim (Art) - Hearthstone Concept Artist
All but one team member are also from Blizzard (full team list). Kate Welch comes from Wizards of the Coast.
Quote From Dreamhaven Secret Door is led by Chris Sigaty, Alan Dabiri, and Eric Dodds, who’ve worked on multiple genre-defining games. Sigaty’s roles have included Executive Producer on Hearthstone, StarCraft II, and Heroes of the Storm, as well as Lead Producer on the original Warcraft III. Dodds was the original Game Director of Hearthstone and veteran game designer on World of Warcraft and StarCraft. Dabiri has filled both Technical Director and Game Director roles and has worked on Warcraft III, StarCraft II, and Heroes of the Storm. They are joined by a team of highly talented developers with extensive industry experience and are beginning to explore new game experiences together.
“The amount of game development and publishing experience at Dreamhaven combined with the camaraderie between our studios is already providing an unparalleled environment for creative collaboration,” said Secret Door studio head Chris Sigaty. “At Secret Door, we are passionate about bringing players together in positive ways while building a sustainable home for creators. Dreamhaven is providing everything we need to head into uncharted territory. We cannot wait for others to join us on our journey!”
Comments
Snore.
Well, now we know where all of those people went when they left Blizzard recently.
However, game design takes a LONG time, so don't expect any real announcements of actual projects anytime soon.
So, Hadidjah Chamberlain eventually left blizz?
I thought based on the previous news, she left HS but stayed with blizz.
Yes. She left HS to work on another department on Blizz. But she announced shortly thereafter that she got offered a better deal and is leaving Blizzard after all. It turns out it was this new company.
Ahh got it. Thanks for the info.
This news makes me wonder, whatever happened to Ben Brode? Did his new company ever publish anything?
Yeah they definitely announced all their stuff too early imo. Game development takes a long time, even with a preexisting IP like with what Second Dinner was doing and when they announced their first project, it was very much just saying "hey we got the approval for this" instead of any actual proof of concept.
They are still chugging along on their Marvel licensed title. No idea what the project is; haven’t had any game updates in a while. But occasionally see announcements of staff they’ve added. So I assume either the Marvel game or some other title are still being worked on
It'll be neat to see what these teams publish
Kate Welch, cool. I wondered what she would be up to after leaving WOTC.
H U G E
Cool! They should create some fun games. To me, the most important thing is that they're starting with clean slates. "Activision bad" is a fine stance, but Bungie has not dramatically improved Destiny 2 after over a year of separation (and I know Blizzard can't just split from Activision like Bungie did). Is that because the base product is too... tainted by those evil publisher, financially-minded design decisions? Maybe. Yet Luke Smith and the boys are committed to D2 for the next 2+ years, so they must think they can turn it into the game they want it to be. Also, the spirit of Old Blizzard is stronger in Dreamshot, given who's working there and the sheer number of Blizzard vets. The point is, while having no evil publisher pressure must be a great feeling, some "bad" games exist because the devs have good intentions/ideas but poor implementation. Still, I want to be optimistic, so I'll be keeping a close eye on Dreamhaven.
Very intrigued. What genre of games can we expect from these names?
Most people are from Hearthstone, Starcraft, and Heroes of the Storm. Those are the easy guesses!
First person shooter. Got it! :p
not necessarily. It could be CCG, RTS, or MOBA too.
We could also see another similar Hack & Slash games like Diablo itself.
But don't mind me. Every guess is as good as mine. Only time will tell.
Mate, that wasn't a serious reply.
These studios sound awesome! Can't wait to see what they make. My bet is on Moonshot making a card game since they have some names from Hearthstone.
Interesting news, I wish them all the best.
Sorry, this took a little bit longer than expected to get up this morning, this is fantastic news. I knew Mike wasn't about that retirement life, especially not with how things turned out at Blizzard.
I cannot wait to see what these awesome people create. With Bonfire Studios from Rob Pardo, Second Dinner from Ben Brode and gang, and now Dreamhaven with Mike Morhaime, we've now got 4 teams (since Dreamhaven has 2 studios) that are going to be working on assumingly great products. I love how Mike has said "fuck that" to chasing short-term financial pressure.
I'm also excited that we'll be able to cover stuff in the future :eyes: