Congrats on the ‘gotcha’ propaganda—spotting an unfinished temple and declaring Greekness dead for likes. 🤦🏼♂️🤣
While you’re busy sneering, remember this: Ancient Greece gifted the West democracy, philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), rational science, Euclidean math, Hippocratic medicine, theater, Olympics, and the humanist ideals you’re typing on right now. 🤷🏼♂️
One temple stayed unfinished because a tyrant fell—our ideas built your entire world.
Be thankful instead of bitter, champ.
Ignorance this loud deserves its own exhibit in the museum we invented. 🇬🇷👑
The last "modern" game I ever played was World of Warcraft, from 2004 to 2010, the end of Wrath of the Lich King.
I know there were MMORPGs before (and after), but when the original World of Warcraft launched in 2004, it felt closer to "perfection" than any game before or since. Nothing has changed that feeling to this day. What changed was the game itself after the death of Arthas in Wrath of the Lich King.
The original WoW felt so vast, so open, and so alive - it’s hard to put into words. There was no min-maxing yet, no speedruns, no parsing records, no gear score requirements. If you were really "pro," you connected with friends or guildies via Ventrilo. There was no WeakAuras, no threat meters, no Questie guiding you.
You quickly learned that even the most expensive vendor gear was trash compared to quest rewards. You had to walk from Elwynn Forest to the Redridge Mountains - and if you dared peek across the river into Duskwood, the spiders there would one-shot you (I’m sure we all did that). The first time you equipped a green item! The first time you swapped it for a blue! And the envy of seeing someone with purple gear, omg!
Saving up for a mount and the catharsis when you could finally afford one! The first time you entered the Deadmines, the foolish solo attempt on Hogger only to realize instantly it was a death sentence, stepping into Alterac Valley battlegrounds and being in awe of its size, wiping on Ragnaros again and again before finally killing him, and the sheer joy of celebrating together with your guild.
The excitement and awe of entering Naxxramas for the first time, struggling to down Patchwerk, the teamwork, the slow progress, seeing Sapphiron dead on the frozen ground and being moments away from Kel’Thuzad… so close!
It truly felt like a massive world - not just in size, but in stories. The announcement of The Burning Crusade and the Dark Portal appearing in the Blasted Lands; you couldn’t wait to walk through it. Then the ultimate climax when Wrath of the Lich King launched, eventually facing the most badass character in gaming history: Arthas.
World of Warcraft was magic. Until it wasn’t. Just like Blizzard was once the greatest game studio of all - until they weren’t. Warcraft used to be tough, glorious and epic... now it's pink Disney fluff.
Nothing has recaptured that feeling from 2004 to 2010. I wonder if anything ever will again.
I sometimes watch the trailer of the original WoW. It still hits close to the (gamer) heart…
I am a senior vice president at a $68.7 billion gaming company.
Activision-Blizzard.
We have a 30-year-old franchise.
Warcraft.
Millions of players. A subscription model that prints $15 a month per user. A cash shop on top of the subscription. Paid expansions on top of the cash shop.
Our former creative director just told the press he wishes we hadn't called it "Warcraft."
He said the name sounds intimidating.
He helped create the name.
We ran focus groups. The focus groups said the brand needed to be "more approachable." We asked the focus groups if they played the game. They did not. We took their advice anyway.
Our VP told an interviewer we want players to experience "weddings, raids, and new adventures." She listed weddings first. Before raids. In a game called Warcraft. Nobody in the room flinched.
She also said "No one thinks the same about Warhammer."
She compared our franchise unfavorably to a competitor. On the record. As a defense of the franchise.
The forums are on fire. Twenty-year veterans are writing goodbye posts. One thread is titled "Think I'm done with WoW." Another calls our pre-patch a "player purge."
We called our GDKP raiders "delusional."
We timed a cash shop bundle to launch during the Trading Post anniversary -- the one event where players earn free cosmetics. We offered 200 discounted items but kept the monthly currency cap at 1,000. The math doesn't work unless you open your wallet.
The community noticed. We described their concerns as "feedback we're monitoring."
We are always monitoring. We have never once changed course because of monitoring.
The players say we're "Disneyfying" the game. Turning gritty into cute. War into weddings. Orcs into mascots.
They're not wrong.
The data says approachable properties have wider TAM. Total addressable market. That's the metric now. Not "subscribers who love the game." Not "community that built this franchise." TAM.
TAM doesn't post on forums. TAM doesn't write goodbye letters. TAM doesn't have 20 years of muscle memory and lore knowledge and raid nights that turned into real friendships.
TAM is a number in a slide deck that makes a board feel comfortable.
We added player housing. Players have asked for it since 2004. We launched it in 2026. Twenty-two years. We described this as "listening to our community."
We are very good at listening. Eventually. When the feature aligns with a monetization roadmap.
Here is what I know and cannot say in a meeting:
The name was never the problem. The name built this. The name survived server crashes and subscription drops and an activision merger and a harassment scandal and a $68.7 billion acquisition.
The name is "Warcraft" and for 30 years nobody was confused about what it meant.
The problem is not that new players find the name intimidating.
The problem is that old players are starting to find us unrecognizable.
And we don't have a focus group for that.
Thanks for all the amazing comments about Mortality from everyone who's already watched it! Watch it again. Or just leave it on when you're out. That way the views go through the roof and Netflix pay me even more next time. And that means more money for animal charities.
17 χρόνια η Ελλάδα ταλανίζεται από την κρίση χρέους. Κι όμως, οι περισσότεροι Έλληνες αγνοούν παντελώς τι είναι το δημόσιο χρέος και ότι δεν είναι πάντα κακό. ΟΛΑ όσα πρέπει να ξέρεις για το χρέος σε ένα βίντεο. ��ο βλέπεις εδώ: https://t.co/LI3Tr0F6vJ
Με τον Πάρι Καρβουνόπουλο μιλάμε για τις επενδύσεις που δεν έρχονται, για την Ελλάδα που μένει πίσω στον διεθνή ανταγωνισμό, για το tipping point της διαφθοράς, και για Δικαιοσύνη. Μια από τις ουσιαστικότερες κουβέντες που έχω κάνει στο YouTube. https://t.co/emfaBonnzo