Blizzard has announced yet another move to shed off one of the last remaining bits of their past: dropping Battle.net.
Now before you freak out like I initially did and think their online component is going to be overhauled yet again, fear not. The developer is simply dropping the Battle.net name, in favor of something a bit more brandlike – Blizzard tech.
“When we created Battle.net, the idea of including a tailored online-gaming service together with your game was more of a novel concept, so we put a lot of focus on explaining what the service was and how it worked, including giving it a distinct name,” Blizzard said in the update.
“Over time, though, we’ve seen that there’s been occasional confusion and inefficiencies related to having two separate identities under which everything falls—Blizzard and Battle.net. Given that built-in multiplayer support is a well-understood concept and more of a normal expectation these days, there isn’t as much of a need to maintain a separate identity for what is essentially our networking technology.”
So, to reiterate – Blizzard is bringing their online component more in line with their other services, like Blizzard Streaming and Blizzard Voice. Part of me will forever be sad to see this change, as you could argue this is the last remaining piece of the company’s pre-Activision merger.
Battle.net was first launched way back in 1996, seven years prior to Steam ever existing. How many of you have fond memories endlessly logging onto Battle.net, years ago or more recently? Sound off in the comments below!
Mr0303
September 26, 2016 at 7:00 pmOne would think that they would want to keep the name – it already has a connection to older gamers, plus it sounds so general that can only strengthen their brand.
Kaetsu
September 26, 2016 at 7:16 pmWhy not just call it Blizzard.net then? It would fix the “confusion” and it doesn’t sound as weird as “Blizzard tech”.
Master Bating
September 26, 2016 at 7:17 pmOverbotch and Hearthstone brought a ton of new people to the service which will now buy their brand if its plastered everywhere.
RockstarRepublic
September 26, 2016 at 7:26 pmRIP Battle Net
scemar
September 26, 2016 at 7:31 pmblizzard tech isn’t even cool or catchy, it’s lame, why even bother attempting to rebrand one of the oldest and most known online services if it already had a cool sounding name, specially if that’s the best they could come up with?
ChaosBahamut
September 26, 2016 at 8:14 pmYet again ‘standarization’ sucking the life out of everything.
vonSanneck
September 26, 2016 at 8:22 pmI see why they would go this route: to make it a bit harder for people with lots of free time (I refuse to call them hackers) have been DDoS-ing them frequently.
I do not own a Battle.net account and possibly never will.
bigbear514
September 26, 2016 at 8:48 pmExactly what I was thinking.
2501
September 26, 2016 at 8:48 pmWhy change the name? Battle.net has been an infamous service in PC gaming for over 20 years. First logged in way back in 2000 to play Diablo II.
Tyrone Jackson
September 26, 2016 at 11:18 pm“Blizzard tech” sounds really try-hard, not that Battle.net is an amazing name. At least the latter has been known for 20 years.
Jade Blake
September 27, 2016 at 12:03 amIdiots.
Smug
September 27, 2016 at 12:23 amPicture reminds me that Warcraft III online is pretty dead for custom maps
Good memories I had with those
RPGEndBoss
September 27, 2016 at 12:25 amI remember back in ye olde days of Ogden’s Tavern, Snakegod Clan, Inferno, Tarot, Ordo Rosae Moriatur…we always just called the world “B-net”.
I think I’ll still call it Bnet. Blizzrd Tech, or B-Tech doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Madbrainbox
September 27, 2016 at 12:42 amIt’s a dumb move.
AR7777
September 27, 2016 at 12:52 amI wonder how will this affect old games like broodwar, will it say connect to blizzard tech instead of connect to battle.net? Will we be able to play online on broodwar?
Chino Gambino
September 27, 2016 at 1:33 amI thought battle.net was a cool name, none of the players seem confused about what it was.
Chino Gambino
September 27, 2016 at 1:34 amDota killed customs.
gwadahunter2222
September 27, 2016 at 1:41 amBlizzard.net is blacklisted due to the many the many fishing attempt
No_Good_Names_Ever
September 27, 2016 at 2:21 amIt was too problematic for the physically inable.
Waswat
September 27, 2016 at 7:15 amit’s not going to be “blizzard tech”… I have no clue where brandon got that from