Blizzard to acquire Spellbreak developer Proletariat

Blizzard Entertainment intends to purchase Spellbreak developer Proletariat to help support World of Warcraft.

As reported by GamesBeat, the deal will see Proletariat become part of Blizzard, which intends to put the studio's 100-strong dev team to work on World of Warcraft.

The studio will specifically support development on World of Warcraft's upcoming Dragonflight expansion, which is due to launch later this year.

The news comes a day after Proletariat announced that its mage-themed battle royale title, Spellbreak, will be shutting down in early 2023. 

Blizzard president Mike Ybarra described Proletariat as a "perfect fit" for the company. The World of Warcraft maker has rarely been far from headlines recently as a result of parent company Activision Blizzard's wide-ranging cultural issues, with numerous reports highlighting allegations of ingrained harassment and misconduct to attempts at union busting.

"We are putting players at the forefront of everything we do, and we are working hard to both meet and exceed their expectations," said Ybarra.

"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 bringing high-quality content to our players more often."

Activision Blizzard is currently in the process of being acquired by Microsoft for $68.7 billion.