Blizzard

Life At Blizzard - The Blizzard Museum

Blizzard Entertainment

The Blizzard Museum is located in the heart of our Irvine campus next to our main lobby and the Blizzard Theater. Since moving to this campus in 2007, the museum has been a key part of tours and has provided enjoyment for both visitors and employees alike. To begin, we spoke with Dana, Curator.

As Curator, refreshing our campus museum with a new installation is one of my favorite responsibilities. We typically update a couple times a year. Themes vary depending on franchise milestones, game launches, company celebrations, etc. Its a very organic process though; teams work with us but also give us a great deal of freedom to build compelling displays. For this update the timing was perfect for a project I’ve wanted to work on for quite some time - an armory! Our archive recently acquired all the Azeroth Armory weapons created by Tony Swatton and several costume pieces from our commercials. Plus sitting behind my desk was the 7’ Frostmourne that was used as the basis for the 15’ bronze Arthas statue in Taiwan. Everywhere I looked the pieces were falling in place.

Once we have a theme I map out each installation digitally to get an idea of flow and feel. Pieces can come from all over: promotions (like the huge Tracer gun from the giant-size action figure), team and fan-made items, concepts from game development and more. I look for relevant and iconic pieces that draw you in and tell a story. Our Corporate Applications team recently designed an interactive display so visitors can explore related art and video content, I can't wait for people to try it!

Our vault houses over 25 years of Blizzard history, and I have the pleasure of combing through these treasures to find just the right pieces. Some artifacts from the early days were not well documented so there's mysteries we try to solve along the way. For example, I'm hoping someone can shed light on the origin of Raynor's badge; it's been tucked away for years with no info.

My favorite piece, if I must pick one, is the Madder Bomber jacket. Meticulously constructed and so fun, there was a lot of love put into it. The most difficult decision is what is left OUT as I can't showcase it all. I have the opportunity to see fascinating art and artifacts every day and I want to ensure others can as well, that's my passion. Blizzard's environment and culture is so enthusiastic of art in all forms. If you have a chance to visit our Irvine campus be sure to stop by!

Dana
Curator