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A young programmer who didn't fit into Blizzard's culture ultimately became a successful writer.
The first readers have begun to discover the book by writer and journalist Jason Schreier, “Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment,” which details the entire history of Blizzard from its founding to its acquisition by Microsoft, revealing the highs, lows, and the reasons behind them, while also uncovering some quite intriguing facts.
One story from 30 years ago tells of a young programmer, Andy Weir, who landed his dream job at Blizzard at around 20 years old and started working as a programmer on Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. However, even then, as the author writes, a crunch culture thrived within the company, with no pay for overtime, a relatively low base salary, and bonuses given rarely, and only when the goals were met.
When Andy complained about this, his colleagues told him that he “didn’t fit into Blizzard’s culture,” and from that point on, they began to disregard him, and at times even insult and humiliate him. According to Weir, many treated him poorly, and he constantly felt it was his fault. Although he made some mistakes, he also noted that he had no mentor and no one took the initiative to train him. Unable to continue working in such an environment, he was fired from Blizzard a year after being hired.
Many years later, fate smiled upon Andy, and instead of being a programmer, he became a writer. Weir has penned several popular novels, including The Martian (2011), Artemis (2017), and Project Hail Mary (2021). The Martian garnered numerous awards and was translated into nearly fifty languages. Later, Ridley Scott adapted it into a film of the same name, starring Matt Damon, which received nominations for various awards.
Who knows, if things had gone differently, he might have landed a position as a story writer for Blizzard games, where he could undoubtedly have made a valuable contribution.
Crunch Culture at Blizzard
One indicative story about the work atmosphere in early Blizzard is about a programmer who didn’t fit into the company’s harsh crunch culture. The programmer told Schreier that after he complained about not being paid for overtime, he became “the target of endless bullying around the office.” According to him, he was neglected, mocked, or simply ignored.
“So many people were shitty to me that I had to assume I was at fault in some way,” the programmer said. He admitted to making mistakes but also noted that there was no one willing to offer mentorship or training. After working for less than a year, the programmer was fired. “This was a dream job for me – working at Blizzard,” the programmer said. “I was absolutely crushed.”
Eventually, the programmer, whose name is Andy Weir, pursued other dreams. He wrote The Martian and Project Hail Mary.
According to Jason Schreier, Blizzard Fired Andy Weir because he didn't fit into their crunch culture.
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