Granada Hills High School Alumni
Granada Hills, California (CA)
Michael Morhaime
Videogame producer and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment[47]
What is Michael Morhaime known for?
Michael "Mike" Morhaime, born on November 3, 1967, in Granada Hills, California, is an esteemed American video game developer and entrepreneur, best known for co-founding Blizzard Entertainment. Morhaime was born into a Jewish family and had his early education at Granada Hills High School. Following high school, he pursued a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During his time at UCLA, Morhaime discovered his knack for programming, a skill he applied later in his remarkable career.
Morhaime launched his career alongside Allen Adham and Frank Pearce, with whom he co-founded Silicon & Synapse in the early 1990s. This company would later be renamed Blizzard Entertainment. Based in Irvine, California, Blizzard Entertainment achieved significant acclaim under Morhaime's leadership, particularly after the release of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft (WoW) in 2004.
On an interesting note, Morhaime initially assumed WoW, the first Blizzard game to require a subscription fee, would grow slowly due to the expected deterrent effect of the fee. However, contrary to expectations, the game sold rapidly, catching the company off-guard with its immense success. As of 2010, WoW boasted up to 11 million subscribers, proving a testament to the company's success in the gaming industry.
Morhaime stepped down from his role as president and CEO of Blizzard in 2018, passing the baton to J. Allen Brack. He remained associated with the company as an advisor. Today, Morhaime helms Dreamhaven, a company he founded that remains a significant player in the gaming industry. Morhaime's contributions to the gaming industry have been recognized with several awards, including the induction into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2001.