Summary
Blizzardjust revealed some incredible statistics aboutWorld of Warcraft,Diablo 4,Overwatch 2, and several of its other games to celebrate the end of 2024. From killing 100,000 pounds of Nerubians inWorld of Warcraftto playing enough Clash onOverwatch 2to fly to Neptune and back eight times, it is clearBlizzardfans had quite a busy year.
In January,former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra was replaced by Johanna Faries. The former general manager ofCall of Dutyand 12-year veteran of the NFL marketing and business departments inherited a Blizzard hot off the coattails of its acquisition by Microsoft in October 2023.
Nearly a year after her promotion, Faries shared a blog post reviewing her experiences as the president of Blizzard. After reminiscing about the successes from 2024, she shared a number of entertaining statistics about Blizzard, including one each fromWorld of Warcraft,Warcraft Rumble,Hearthstone,Diablo 4,DiabloImmortal, andOverwatch 2. Some of the highlights include that it would take 60 years to read every direct message sent via the Battle.net app this year, that over 1.7 trillion demons have been slain inDiablo 4, and that 4.5 billion spiders weigh as much as a blue whale.
Beyond their releases, Faries also celebrated several major company milestones from last year, including appearances at conventions like GDC and Gamescom, the inaugural Warcraft Direct presentation, and the return of Blizzard games to China via a renewal of its partnership with NetEase. She also highlighted several of its charity drives, including theover $12.3 million raised byOverwatch 2players via Pink Mercyfor the Breast Cancer Research Foundation,Diablo 4fans donating 666 buckets of maggots for the Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital, and the Reven Pack inWorld of Warcraftgiving all proceeds to CureDuchenne in honor ofThe Remarkable Life of Ibelin.
Unfortunately, 2024 was not all good news for Blizzard. Like many game companies this year,Blizzard was plagued with layoffs in Januaryand September, with many of its employees counted among the over 2000 Microsoft subsidiary developers impacted by both cuts. Though fans were happy to see Faries celebrate Blizzard’s high points, many were disappointed she did not make mention of this negative history in her letter.
Nevertheless, Blizzard ultimately had a successful year in 2024. Faries concluded the letter by saying 2025 would be “another big year of new and exciting experiences,” so it is safe to say Blizzard has no intention of slowing down its momentum. Players will have to wait and see what the company has in store for their favorite games next year – and ifBlizzCon will make its return after not taking place in 2024.
