Blizzard CEO vows to support Korea's e-Sports

Blizzard Entertainment Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Mike Morhaime, right, poses with a Korean professional gamer during his visit to a Starcraft 2 e-sports pre-season event at the Freec UP Studio in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Dec. 18. / Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment Korea

By Yoon Sung-won

Mike Morhaime, chief executive officer and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, has pledged to support the growth of Korea’s e-Sports ecosystem.

During his visit to the country from Dec. 15 to 22, the CEO met with the company’s partners in the e-Sports sector, including International e-Sports Association Chairman Jun Byung-hun, the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA), local game broadcaster OGN and AfreecaTV, and discussed the future of Korea’s e-Sports industry.

Morhaime also met with professional gamers and e-Sports fans here and expressed gratitude for their support of the companies’ games.

“I appreciate the gamers here for continuing to love Blizzard’s games,” he said. “Meeting with Korean game fans is always a special experience for me because e-Sports started in this country.”

Morhaime graduated from UCLA in 1990 before founding the video game company in 1991 in Irvine, California. He has since led the development of computer games such as the Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft series.

In 2008, Morhaime was honored at the 59th Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards for the company’s development of World of Warcraft, the world’s most sought-after massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Morhaime already met with e-Sports fans several times when he visited the country before. But this year’s visit is rather unexpected considering his tight schedule during the year-end season, Blizzard Entertainment Korea said.

“The CEO’s visit here can be interpreted as his particular interest in the Korean game market and the e-Sports industry,” an official said.

During his visit to the Korean subsidiary, the CEO thanked and congratulated the employees for successfully launching diverse new titles including the mobile version of its card game Hearthstone, online strategy game Heroes of the Storm and the last expansion of Starcraft 2, Legacy of the Void.

Meanwhile, the U.S. game company plans to roll out a brand new online action game, Overwatch, and the latest expansion to World of Warcraft, dubbed “Legion,” next year.