Ringing Bells and Taking Names at NASDAQ

Blizzard
March 22nd by Blizzard Entertainment

On Monday, March 7 Blizzard Entertainment founders Mike Morhaime, Frank Pearce, and Allen Adham rang the closing bell at the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York in celebration of Blizzard’s 20th anniversary.

While most executives might have spent their free time discussing the financial market, Mike and Frank decided to squeeze in a game of StarCraft II instead. (Frank won their heated TvT mirror match, but it was close, in case you were wondering.)

While our founders were ringing the bell inside, Blizzard was taking over Times Square outside in the name of our global gaming community. We projected a seven-story-high video featuring cinematics from World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty on the NASDAQ tower for a full hour -- marking the first time that Deathwing was ever rendered to scale.

Thanks to your support, Blizzard has been able to spend the last twenty years developing and publishing some of the most epic entertainment experiences ever. Please visit our 20th Anniversary site to take part in the celebration, and be sure to check out the extensive retrospective video we posted recently.

From left, Activision COO Thomas Tippl and Blizzard Entertainment co-founders Mike Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce celebrate Blizzard's twentieth anniversary by ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ Marketsite, Monday, March 7, 2011 in New York. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Blizzard Entertainment) Blizzard Entertainment co-founders Frank Pearce, left, and Mike Morhaime unwind by playing a StarCraft II match before ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ Marketsite, Monday, March 7, 2011 in New York. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Blizzard Entertainment)
From left, Blizzard Entertainment vice president Lisa Jensen, Activision COO Thomas Tippl, Blizzard co-founders Allen Adham, Mike Morhaime and Frank Pearce, and NASDAQ senior vice president Bob MnCooey celebrate Blizzard's twentieth anniversary by ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ Marketsite, Monday, March 7, 2011 in New York. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Blizzard Entertainment) Trailers for Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and StarCraft II play outside the NASDAQ Marketsite after Activision and Blizzard executives celebrated Blizzard's twentieth anniversary by ringing the closing bell, Monday, March 7, 2011 in New York. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Blizzard Entertainment)

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Blizzard20th AnniversaryNASDAQ