Considering the IP gold rush that has swept through Hollywood as of late and hoovered up many of the biggest and most popular gaming franchises and brands, it's almost surprising that Blizzard Entertainment hasn't been dragged into the fold. Sure, Blizzard has dipped its toes into the adaptation waters before with the animated Warcraft film, but its many other iconic series haven't seen the same level of focus. But perhaps that will soon change.
Speaking to Variety, Blizzard president Johanna Faries has explained that the company isn't shying away from exploring other entertainment mediums, as it's pushing to be on "every screen imaginable."
Faries notes: "We talk a lot about this. We're not Blizzard Games, we're Blizzard Entertainment. We want to be able to show up on every screen imaginable. We want to be able to create new fans who may not have been with us for the past 35 years. How we continue to engage Hollywood or film and TV in bigger ways is going to be, in the near term, probably a big part of that recipe. We also play in music. We also play in non-traditional spaces, beyond gaming, certainly."
As for what this could effectively look like, Fairies expresses that there are "highly generative, proactive, near-term discussions across almost every one of our worlds right now, with respect to what can we do, what format works, who's the right team to take that to new audiences in a high caliber way." This is on top of a very bold claim that "every one of our IPs could be some of the greatest linear media experiences that the world could experience."
Considering the many excellent cinematic trailers that Blizzard puts out, many have asked for Overwatch to be one brand that is explored to a wider extent, with Faries even talking briefly about this with the following.
"It's something that we see signaled to us very consistently. So whenever we put out any type of lore, including a cinematic thesis, there is a very common expression of, I wish we could have more of this, I wish that we could enjoy these stories. So when I took on the role of franchise GM, these future opportunities and possibilities were something that pushed me to say yes, yes, yes, because I think we have delivered on the game, but there's still so much on the broader franchise experience that I wanted to bring to players and fans."
Would you like to see Blizzard further explore bringing its biggest franchises to other entertainment mediums?