Frequently asked questions about Play Nice

Yesterday I announced my next book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment (preorder here!). I’ve been thrilled by the reactions and gotten a lot of questions, so I figured I’d tackle most of them in one place.

Why preorder now when it’s not out for another eight months?

Because preorders are an essential part of book publishing. They help publishers know how many copies to print and stores know how many to order. They help with shelf placement and they contribute to bestseller lists. In other words, preordering books you’re interested in makes it so authors can keep writing more of those books for many years to come.

Will there be an audiobook?

Yes! More info on that coming later.

Will it be released in [country]?

My publisher Hachette is printing the book in North America and the U.K. (U.K. preorders will be available later this year). For other countries, my wonderful agents are talking to publishers across the world and we’ll hopefully secure as many as possible. My last two books were published in more than a dozen languages and I expect that this one will be too.

Is there new information in here?

Yes — by the end of the book you’ll have a much deeper understanding of Blizzard’s history and culture. You’ll learn about what it was like to work at Blizzard in the 1990s, how World of Warcraft transformed the company, and all the nitty-gritty details behind Activision’s years-long war to make Blizzard’s products more like Call of Duty. This book contains the development stories behind just about every game the company has made, from Diablo to Overwatch 2 to the canceled projects, like Titan and Avalon and StarCraft Ghost. And much, much more.

What if more crazy Blizzard/Activision/Microsoft news happens between now and October?

The goal of this book isn’t to cover everything that’s ever happened or will happen at Blizzard, it’s to tell a specific story, and there’s actually a very good natural end point to that story in the book. Worse comes to worse we’ll just release DLC.

Can I review the book/interview you?

We’ll be doing press closer to release — if you’re interested, email me over the summer.

Is it true you hid allegations of sexual misconduct at Blizzard?

This idea, propagated by Gamergaters on r/kotakuinaction and the like, is nonsensical but keeps getting traction, because it makes for a good story. (Evil journalist hides the truth so he can sell books!)

It started because on July 21, 2021 — the night that California filed a lawsuit against Blizzard for sexual misconduct and discrimination — I wrote the following thread on Twitter:

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed an explosive lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for discrimination. Some of the details in the complaint are horrifying https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-frat-boy-culture (8:22 PM · Jul 21, 2021)

An Activision Blizzard spokesman sent me a lengthy statement calling the allegations "distorted, and in many cases false" and referring to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing as "unaccountable State bureaucrats." (9:20 PM · Jul 21, 2021)

Truth is, I've heard several stories about sexism and sexual misconduct at Blizzard over the past few years. Needless to say, we'll be reporting more on this. If you work or worked at Blizzard and would like to share your story confidentially, I'm at jasonschreier@protonmail.com (9:34 PM · Jul 21, 2021)

Taken out of context, that last tweet has been misinterpreted in all sorts of ways. Its purpose was to make clear that despite Activision Blizzard’s claims, I had independently heard rumors that backed up California’s allegations. What kind of rumors? A few stories about gender discrimination and some secondhand rumblings about inappropriate relationships, mostly surrounding the abrupt 2018 departure of Blizzard CTO Ben Kilgore. Nothing too specific, nothing about physical harassment, and nothing I could prove or publish — until the lawsuit filing, which led many more women to feel comfortable speaking out about their experiences at Blizzard. Then, a few weeks later (August 6, 2021), I was able to publish this piece about sexual misconduct at Blizzard thanks to dozens of brave sources who were now willing to speak to me and share their stories.

Reporters often get rumors or tips that it would be irresponsible, unethical, and legally risky to publish. A reporter might spend years chasing rumors only to hit dead ends because the people involved don’t want to talk — or because, as is revealed much later, they can’t talk due to ongoing litigation. Often, a reporter will choose to sit on a story because publishing it could risk identifying or harming the victims involved. These are frustrating but normal realities of the job, and sometimes it takes a tipping point (such as a public lawsuit) to make enough people finally feel comfortable speaking on the record. What some observers (many in bad faith, some perhaps not) are interpreting and shouting on Twitter as “Jason hid misconduct allegations” is in reality how journalism works.

Putting all that aside, I’ll also note that this book does not contain new allegations of sexual abuse at Blizzard. The book goes in depth on Blizzard’s culture and how it evolved from the 1990s through today. It shares many personal anecdotes from women who spoke to me for the book — including the storm of intense and often conflicting emotions they felt about the place — and it sorts out fact vs fiction in the California lawsuit. I’m grateful to everyone who shared their stories and I think people will get a lot out of the book.