Blizzard games are best when played with friends, and new Facebook integration features such as Facebook Login and Live API will make that easier than ever<\/p>\n
Facebook\u2019s collaboration with Blizzard reflects the global social network\u2019s commitment to supporting world-class entertainment experiences<\/p>\n
IRVINE, Calif.\u2014June 6, 2016\u2014<\/strong>Blizzard Entertainment and Facebook are working together to provide gamers around the world with new ways to connect and share their gaming experiences, while bringing more high-demand entertainment content to Facebook\u2019s global platform.<\/p>\n The companies announced today that a major step in their ongoing collaboration will begin later this month with the integration of Facebook Login in Blizzard\u2019s PC games. This will enable players to sign up for and log in to games such as World of Warcraft\u00ae<\/sup>, Heroes of the Storm\u00ae<\/sup>, Hearthstone\u00ae<\/sup>, Diablo\u00ae<\/sup> III, StarCraft\u00ae<\/sup> II,<\/em> and Blizzard\u2019s most recent blockbuster release, Overwatch\u00ae<\/sup>,<\/em> using their Facebook accounts.<\/p>\n Adding Facebook Login will pave the way for new social functionality in Blizzard games while highlighting Facebook\u2019s capabilities as a platform for sharing, viewing, and discussing AAA game content. As an example, Blizzard is in the process of incorporating Facebook\u2019s Live API in order to create its own \u201cGo Live\u201d streaming functionality for its games. When this functionality is implemented, players will for the first time be able to livestream their Blizzard-gaming sessions directly to their Facebook timelines, and friends will be able to subscribe and be notified when new streams are available.<\/p>\n \u201cBlizzard games are best when played with friends, so it\u2019s important to us to provide our players with features and services that make it easy and fun to share their experiences with each other,\u201d said Gio Hunt, executive vice president of corporate operations at Blizzard Entertainment. \u201cWe\u2019re working closely with Facebook on this integration for Overwatch,<\/em> as well as our other games, and we look forward to sharing further details on our plans as development progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the collaboration between the two companies, Blizzard recently hosted multiple livestreams via Facebook. The first series of streams centered on Heroes of the Dorm\u2122<\/sup>, Blizzard\u2019s collegiate tournament featuring its popular team-brawler Heroes of the Storm.<\/em> Last week, Blizzard hosted a livestreamed launch event for Overwatch<\/em> on Facebook.<\/p>\n \u201cBlizzard has a passionate community of players, and an incredible track record for launching innovative and high-quality gaming experiences,\u201d said Leo Olebe, global games partnerships director at Facebook.\u00a0\u201cOur collaboration on Overwatch<\/em> demonstrates Facebook\u2019s commitment to partnering with AAA game companies, while further empowering Blizzard gamers to connect and share the content they’re most passionate about with the friends they play with\u00a0around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n In preparation for the Overwatch<\/em> launch, Facebook worked with Blizzard on a comprehensive mix of Facebook and Instagram marketing solutions\u2014including Carousel ads, Canvas, and Instagram Marquee. Using the platforms\u2019 powerful targeting capabilities, Facebook helped Blizzard present the game to a broad set of gaming and entertainment audiences within Facebook\u2019s and Instagram’s global audiences of 1.65 billion and 400 million people respectively. On Facebook, more than 650 million people play games connected to Facebook every month across web, mobile, and console.<\/p>\n Overwatch<\/em> is a dynamic team-based shooter in which players choose from a cast of 21 diverse heroes\u2014each with their own unique arsenal of extraordinary weapons and incredible abilities\u2014and battle to complete objectives in various locations across a near-future earth. The game\u00a0is available now for PlayStation\u00ae4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and Windows\u00ae<\/sup> PC in English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, European Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Korean (PC only), Japanese (PC and PS4\u2122 system only), and traditional and simplified Chinese (PC only). \u00a0The game has been rated T for Teen by the ESRB.<\/p>\n For more information about Overwatch<\/em>, visit the official website<\/a>. For screenshots, videos, and other media, visit Blizzard\u2019s press site at\u00a0 blizzard.gamespress.com\/overwatch<\/a>.<\/p>\n Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft\u00ae<\/sup> and the Warcraft\u00ae<\/sup>, StarCraft\u00ae<\/sup>, and Diablo\u00ae<\/sup> franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry\u2019s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment\u2019s track record includes twenty #1-selling games*<\/sup> and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company\u2019s online-gaming service, Battle.net\u00ae<\/sup>, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.<\/p>\n *Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements<\/u>:\u00a0Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the integration of Facebook-related functionality in Blizzard\u2019s games, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard\u2019s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blizzard games are best when played with friends, and new Facebook integration features such as Facebook Login and Live API will make that easier than ever Facebook\u2019s collaboration with Blizzard reflects the global social network\u2019s commitment to supporting world-class entertainment experiences IRVINE, Calif.\u2014June 6, 2016\u2014Blizzard Entertainment and Facebook are working together to provide gamers around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blizzard-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}