Blizzard Drops Battle.net Name For Its Online Gaming Services, Paving Way For Blizzard Streaming, Voice And More
When launched twenty years ago, Battle.net was setup to become an integral service for all forthcoming Blizzard titles. It was in effect the portal that allowed people to play their favorite Blizzard titles together, with the original Diablo becoming the first to make use of it on November 30, 1996.
The biggest reasons for Blizzard's decision? One is the confusion caused over having two identities, and also the fact that built-in multiplayer is now a given. The post explains, "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."
With that said, it looks like Battle.net will still be used to describe Blizzard's networking infrastructure and technologies, but on the forefront, those fan-usable technologies will be given independent names, such as the examples provided above.
It seems certain that this move was ultimately done to help pave the way for an increased Blizzard presence in eSports. Let's not forget that Activision purchased MLG this past summer for a cool $46 million. It doesn't just want to be part of the eSports realm; it wants to own it.
Despite all that, Blizzard's fans -- the ones who've played Diablo, Warcraft, StarCraft, and most recently, Overwatch -- are likely to feel a little dead inside following this news. Onward and upward, as they say.
