Top 10 Titles that Shaped Blizzard's Stellar Reputation

Diablo is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in January 1997, and it is the first installment in the Diablo series. Set in the fictional kingdom of Khanduras in the mortal realm, players will control a lone hero fighting to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Beneath the town of Tristram, players will journey through sixteen randomly generated dungeon levels, ultimately venturing into Hell to confront Diablo.

Diablo is an action role-playing video game. Players move and interact with the environment primarily using the mouse. Other actions, such as casting a spell, are performed in response to input from the keyboard. Players can acquire items, learn spells, defeat enemies, and interact with non-player characters (NPCs) throughout the game. Diablo has been praised for its randomly generated quests and enemies on each playthrough, multiplayer support, and graphics. The game's success led to two sequels: Diablo II in 2000 and Diablo III in 2012. A third sequel, Diablo IV, is currently in development.

Average rating on Metacritic: 94/100

Hearthstone is a free-to-play online digital card game developed and published by leading developer Blizzard Entertainment. Originally named Heroes of Warcraft, Hearthstone builds upon the existing lore of the Warcraft series by utilizing similar elements, characters, and landmarks. The game features cross-platform playability, allowing players on supported devices to compete against each other, although Hearthstone is only restricted by geographic region account limitations. The game has received critical acclaim and brought success to Blizzard, earning nearly $40 million per month as of August 2017.

The game Hearthstone is a turn-based card game between two opponents, using pre-made decks of 30 cards along with a chosen hero with unique abilities. Players use their limited mana crystals to play abilities or summon minions to attack the opponent, with the objective of defeating the opponent's hero. Winning matches and completing quests earn gold in the game, rewards in the form of new cards, and other in-game prizes.

Average rating on Metacritic: 88/100

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty marks the return of the three species from the original game: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. Wings of Liberty features 29 playable campaign missions; 26 can be played in a single playthrough, with three missions as related branching choices and one hidden secret mission. Wings of Liberty contains some missions with unique features, such as lava flooding the battlefield every five minutes, forcing players to move their units onto high ground before they are destroyed. In another mission, enemy units only attack the player at night, forcing the player into a siege warfare form.

The game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has been critically acclaimed, receiving a Metacritic aggregate score of 93% and has been considered one of the best video games ever made. Similar to its predecessor, StarCraft II has been praised for its engaging gameplay as well as introducing new features and improved storytelling. The game has been criticized for lacking features present in the original StarCraft game including LAN play and the ability to switch between multiplayer regions. Upon release, StarCraft II became the fastest-selling real-time strategy game, with over three million copies sold worldwide in the first month.

Average rating on Metacritic: 93/100

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is the second expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, following The Burning Crusade. It was released on November 13, 2008, and sold 2.8 million copies on the first day, becoming the fastest-selling computer game at the time of its release. The game added a significant amount of new content to the game world, including the new continent of Northrend, the homeland of The Lich King Arthas, and his undead minions.

To venture into Northrend, players must reach at least level 68, with the expansion's level cap being 80. The first hero class introduced, the Death Knight, starts at level 55. Several improvements to World of Warcraft's graphics engine were added upon the release of Wrath of the Lich King. These include the use of new shading techniques in snowy areas, new fire effects, more realistic shadows, and an option to reduce character texture resolutions to improve performance. On September 19, 2012, the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was fully merged with the original World of Warcraft game.

Average rating on Metacritic: 91/100

Embark on a Quest: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade marks the inception of grand adventures within the World of Warcraft universe. Introducing two new playable races, The Burning Crusade brings forth the Draenei for the Alliance and the Blood Elves for the Horde. Formerly exclusive classes, such as the Mage for the Horde and the Paladin for the Alliance, are now accessible to the new races, allowing players to embody the magical prowess of the Draenei and the noble knights of the Blood Elf faction. Level caps have been elevated by ten, now reaching 70.

Critical Acclaim: The Burning Crusade garnered widespread acclaim upon its release. Much like its predecessor, the scenery of The Burning Crusade is lauded, described as 'occasionally breathtaking.' The expansion offers a fresh perspective for existing players and serves as a solid introduction to newcomers. The organization of quests and content within these new areas is purportedly more refined compared to existing races. Blizzard also hosts its own seasonal tournament, the World of Warcraft Arena Tournament, pitting teams from servers worldwide against each other. On February 19, 2021, Blizzard announced The Burning Crusade expansion for the Classic version of the game.

Metacritic Average Rating: 91/100

A New Era Dawns: Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2016. In Overwatch, players are divided into two teams of six, each selecting from a roster of unique characters, known as 'heroes,' each with distinct abilities. Teams must work together to accomplish specific objectives within a limited time frame on various maps. Blizzard has continuously added new heroes, maps, and game modes post-release, all provided free, with the only additional cost for players being optional loot boxes to purchase in-game items.

Overwatch is Blizzard's fourth major franchise and emerged after the cancellation of the multiplayer online role-playing game in 2014, Titan. Upon its release, Overwatch received widespread acclaim from critics, praising its accessibility, diverse roster of heroes, captivating art style, and highly engaging gameplay. Blizzard reported revenue exceeding $1 billion in the game's first year of release and has amassed over 50 million players in just three years. Overwatch is regarded as one of the best video games ever created.

Metacritic Average Rating: 91/100

A Legendary Saga: Diablo III is an action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment as the third installment in the Diablo series. Diablo III was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in May 2012, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in September 2013, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2014, and for Nintendo Switch in November 2018. Set 20 years after the events of Diablo II, players choose to play as one of seven character classes: Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, or Wizard, tasked with defeating the Lord of Terror, Diablo, as in previous games in the series.

Set 20 years after the events of Diablo II, players of Diablo III choose to play as one of seven character classes - Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, or Wizard, tasked with defeating the Lord of Terror, Diablo, as in previous games in the series. Similar to Diablo and Diablo II, the quality and attributes of equipment are randomized. In addition to basic stats (such as weapon damage and armor points on armor), higher-quality items have additional attributes such as bonus damage, attribute bonuses.

Metacritic Average Rating: 90/100

A New Chapter Unfolds: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the third expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, following Wrath of the Lich King. The quest system has been overhauled with nearly 3500 new quests along with revamped low-level and mid-level quests and sensibly arranged to complement the redesigned zones of Azeroth. Ten new dungeons and five new raids have been added as well as a new secondary skill, Archaeology.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was officially announced at BlizzCon on August 21, 2009, although researchers and data miners had uncovered details before it was officially announced by Blizzard. The expansion was officially released on December 7, 2010. With the release of the Cataclysm expansion, the player level cap was raised from 80 to 85. The game's two main continents, Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, have been redesigned with changing landscapes, including flooded areas and chasms of molten lava, and several new areas. Cataclysm sold over 3.3 million copies in the first 24 hours of release including digital pre-sales and sold 4.7 million copies in the first month of release.

Metacritic Average Rating: 90/100

A Legendary Quest: Diablo II is an action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and macOS. The game has a dark and fantastical theme, conceived and designed by the duo David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, who collaborated with Max Schaefer, serving as the project lead of the game. The producers of the game are Matthew Householder and Bill Roper. The game was developed over a period of 3 years, with a release period of 1.5 years.

Set immediately after the events of the first game Diablo, players control a new hero, endeavoring to thwart the destruction caused by Diablo's return. The gameplay features various locations and settings to explore and battle in, as well as an expanded cast of characters to interact with. Building upon the success of the previous Diablo installment (1997) and featuring improvements in gameplay, character progression, and enhanced storytelling compared to its predecessor, Diablo II became one of the most popular games of 2000 and has been regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Metacritic Average Rating: 88/100