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Blizzard North

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Blizzard North
FormerlyCondor
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1993
Founders
Defunct2005
Headquarters
San Mateo, California
,
U.S.
ProductsJustice League Task Force, Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Websitewww.blizzard.com

Blizzard North, initially known as Condor, was a video game development company headquartered in San Mateo, California. It operated as the northern division of Blizzard Entertainment within the San Francisco Bay Area, gaining recognition mainly for the Diablo franchise. The studio was originally based in Redwood City, California, acting as the counterpart to Blizzard Entertainment's primary facility located in Irvine, California. In 2005, Blizzard North was dissolved to reassign its personnel to work on World of Warcraft.

History

Established in 1993 under the name Condor by founders David Brevik, Erich Schaefer, and Max Schaefer—who had previously collaborated at FM Waves, a clip art production company—the studio utilized FM Waves' equipment after its closure to create a dungeon crawler inspired by Dungeons & Dragons featuring roguelike elements. David Brevik held the position of president from 1993 until 2003, while the Schaefer brothers acted as vice presidents.

Approximately nine months prior to launching their acclaimed PC title Diablo in 1997, Condor was acquired by Davidson & Associates, then owners of Blizzard Entertainment, and rebranded as Blizzard North. Despite this change in ownership, the studio maintained operational independence under the leadership of Brevik and the Schaefers. The original Diablo achieved significant acclaim, followed by the even more successful sequel Diablo II released in 2000 and its expansion pack, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, in 2001.

Following completion of Diablo II and its expansion, Blizzard North divided its development efforts between working on Diablo III and a separate space-themed project titled Starblo. In June 2003, key executives Bill Roper, Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, and David Brevik resigned due to concerns regarding financial safeguards and communication about Vivendi Games' intentions to sell Blizzard. These former executives went on to establish Flagship Studios, bringing along additional Blizzard North staff.

Blizzard North was ultimately shuttered by Blizzard Entertainment in August 2005. The closure was attributed to challenges overseeing the troubled development of Diablo III from Blizzard’s Irvine headquarters. Employees were given opportunities to join teams supporting World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, a title whose commercial success had eclipsed that of the Diablo series.

Several ex-members of the Diablo development team—including Eric Sexton, Michio Okamura, and Steven Woo—later formed Hyboreal Games.

Castaway Entertainment

Castaway Entertainment was created by former Blizzard North personnel in Redwood City, California. The studio entered into a publishing agreement with Electronic Arts in March 2004 but did not release any titles before ceasing operations in 2008 due to financial constraints.

Prominent former Blizzard North staff at Castaway included Michael Scandizzo, Stefan Scandizzo, Alan Ackerman, Steven Woo, Rick Seis, Ted Bisson, Bruno Bowden, Peter Brevik, Michael Huang, Kelly Johnson, Michio Okamura, Tom Ricket (also known as Sluggy Freelance’s Shirt Guy Tom), and Fredrick Vaught—the latter lending his name to the Halls of Vaught in Diablo II. Other notable contributors were game designer Bill Dunn and art director Rick Macaraeg.

On April 4, 2008, Michael Scandizzo announced Castaway Entertainment’s closure amid ongoing financial difficulties.

Moon Beast Productions

Established in 2021 by prominent former Condor/Blizzard North personnel, Moon Beast Productions operates as an independent game development studio. It is headed by Blizzard North co-founders Erich Schaefer, Peter Hu—who played a leading role in designing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction—and Phil Shenk, whose name inspired the character Shenk the Overseer in Diablo II.

In December 2024, the company successfully raised $4.5 million in seed capital from a group of investors including 1AM Gaming, The Mini Fund, Overwolf, Versus Ventures, Gaingels, Cohh Carnage, and Mark Pincus. By July 2025, Moon Beast Productions remained in the pre-alpha stage of development and had yet to release any titles.

As Condor

As Blizzard North

As Castaway Entertainment

Cancelled Projects

  • Diablo Junior
  • NFLPA Superstars (intended for the canceled Panasonic M2 console)
  • Diablo III (development period 2000–2005)

See also

References

External links

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