Ex-Blizzard boss details new company Dreamhaven

Mike Morhaime, former boss of Blizzard, has detailed his new game company Dreamhaven and revealed a roster of top ex-Blizzard talent in key roles.

Morhaime left Blizzard back in late 2018, after 27 years at the company he co-founded and 14 years as its president. Several other high profile names followed.

Dreamhaven's announcement today reveals where many have ended up.

The company is made up of two separate studio teams - Moonshot and Secret Door - each led by former Blizzard talent.

Moonshot is led by Jason Chayes, alongside Dustin Browder and Ben Thompson. All have served as producers and directors on Blizzard games such as Hearthstone, StarCraft 2 and Heroes of the Storm.

Secret Door is headed up by Chris Sigaty, who previously led Blizzard's Warcraft 3 and StarCraft 2 team. Joining him are Hearthstone director Eric Dodds and Heroes of the Storm developer Alan Dabiri.

Numerous other ex-Blizzard employees will also serve among Dreamhaven's ranks.

"We're almost trying to create a haven for creators who want an environment that is development friendly, values product, and player experience over short-term financial pressures," Morhaime told Venturebeat. "We believe in the power of gaming to bring people together and as an escape of the unpleasant things that reality can bring. In that sense, it's a haven as well.

"We like the imagery of a lighthouse as a beacon, and that inspires us because we hope that Dreamhaven can be a beacon of hope to others in the industry who share our values and philosophies. There is a better way of approaching business and game creation that can work and be sustainable and be a lot of fun and yield positive results."

When asked by Venturebeat why so many Blizzard employees had left that company and joined Morhaime's own, there was talk of "unfinished business".

"I think it was probably difficult for all of us in different ways to leave," Morhaime said. "I was there nearly 28 years and a big part of my identity was really wrapped up in Blizzard. It did take me quite a long time to separate myself from that."

"I had a tremendous amount of fun during my time at Blizzard and many friends who are still there," Chayes added. "But is there unfinished business? There are more things that we'd like to do. There are more stories to tell, more games to make, and a need to figure out what developers and publishers look like in the future. This is an opportunity to build a company."