Blizzard intends to buy Spellbreak developer, moving 100 staff to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight

The developer of Spellbreak, a magic-based battle royale which recently announced it would be shutting down next year, will be acquired by Blizzard.

Venturebeat reports that the Boston-based developer Proletariat will be folded into Blizzard, with its 100-person team set to aid production on World of Warcraft and its upcoming Dragonflight expansion, expected later this year.

Yesterday, Proletariat told fans in a blog post that after four years, development on Spellbreak would be ending, and servers for the game would be shut down "as of early 2023."

In a statement via Venturebeat, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra said that the company is aiming to put players "at the forefront of everything we do," and that "a big part of caring for our teams is making sure we have the resources to produce experiences our communities will love while giving our teams space to explore even more creative opportunities within their projects. Proletariat is a perfect fit for supporting Blizzard's mission in bring high-quality content to our players more often." 

The two studios have been working together since May, meaning neither the closure of Spellbreak nor the purchase of Proletariat are likely to be wholly reactionary moves.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 was folded into Blizzard recently by its parent company, but as Venturebeat notes, the company has rarely acquired other studios, despite its success. By contrast, Activision-Blizzard in its entirety is currently in the process of being acquired by Microsoft as part of a deal worth nearly $70 billion. The company is also in the midst of a complex lawsuit relating to allegations of employee harassment.

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