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Jason Schreier

๐Ÿ‘ค Speaker
849 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

That's the type of thing that would just happen to their corporate parents in the 90s. It's a miracle that they were able to make any games with the distractions and the craziness that was happening above them.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

Well, so those people also grow up and find spouses and children. Yeah, I think Blizzard got better at crunch over time. I think the more deeper-setted issue was that from the beginning, Blizzard was almost entirely men, and working there felt like being at a frat house. And I think that had its pros and its cons for the people who worked there.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

Well, so those people also grow up and find spouses and children. Yeah, I think Blizzard got better at crunch over time. I think the more deeper-setted issue was that from the beginning, Blizzard was almost entirely men, and working there felt like being at a frat house. And I think that had its pros and its cons for the people who worked there.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

Well, so those people also grow up and find spouses and children. Yeah, I think Blizzard got better at crunch over time. I think the more deeper-setted issue was that from the beginning, Blizzard was almost entirely men, and working there felt like being at a frat house. And I think that had its pros and its cons for the people who worked there.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

But if you were a woman who came in and worked there, it was super complicated, and you had to try to fit into the boys' club, or you might feel uncomfortable. And there might be all sorts of problems that you run into if you work there as a woman.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

But if you were a woman who came in and worked there, it was super complicated, and you had to try to fit into the boys' club, or you might feel uncomfortable. And there might be all sorts of problems that you run into if you work there as a woman.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

But if you were a woman who came in and worked there, it was super complicated, and you had to try to fit into the boys' club, or you might feel uncomfortable. And there might be all sorts of problems that you run into if you work there as a woman.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

And those were the sorts of things that would then bubble up later, especially as people started getting rich and famous because of World of Warcraft, which really transformed the company. And then some of that, some of the kind of the combination of that geekdom combined with fame and fortune, turned some people into self-proclaimed rock stars, and made them do some awful things.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

And those were the sorts of things that would then bubble up later, especially as people started getting rich and famous because of World of Warcraft, which really transformed the company. And then some of that, some of the kind of the combination of that geekdom combined with fame and fortune, turned some people into self-proclaimed rock stars, and made them do some awful things.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

And those were the sorts of things that would then bubble up later, especially as people started getting rich and famous because of World of Warcraft, which really transformed the company. And then some of that, some of the kind of the combination of that geekdom combined with fame and fortune, turned some people into self-proclaimed rock stars, and made them do some awful things.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

That, I think, was more of an issue that kind of lasted than the crunch thing. I think crunch was definitely an issue for a lot of people, and during the early days it was especially an issue because a lot of people during various stages of Blizzard's history felt like they weren't being paid appropriately, they weren't getting rewarded for all the crazy hours they were putting in.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

That, I think, was more of an issue that kind of lasted than the crunch thing. I think crunch was definitely an issue for a lot of people, and during the early days it was especially an issue because a lot of people during various stages of Blizzard's history felt like they weren't being paid appropriately, they weren't getting rewarded for all the crazy hours they were putting in.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

That, I think, was more of an issue that kind of lasted than the crunch thing. I think crunch was definitely an issue for a lot of people, and during the early days it was especially an issue because a lot of people during various stages of Blizzard's history felt like they weren't being paid appropriately, they weren't getting rewarded for all the crazy hours they were putting in.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

But the kind of the culture of sexism and discrimination that would bubble up and be talked about much later, I think that was a bigger problem that was kind of rooted in that 90s culture.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

But the kind of the culture of sexism and discrimination that would bubble up and be talked about much later, I think that was a bigger problem that was kind of rooted in that 90s culture.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

But the kind of the culture of sexism and discrimination that would bubble up and be talked about much later, I think that was a bigger problem that was kind of rooted in that 90s culture.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

Yeah, men in their early 20s.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

Yeah, men in their early 20s.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

Yeah, men in their early 20s.

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The toxic transformation of Warcraft maker Blizzard

I think it's both. I think there are a couple of things that are specific to Blizzard.