Blizzard to drop Battle.net name because multiplayer no longer requires a separate identity

Blizzard is to transition away from using the Battle.net name for its gaming services and related functionality, instead referring to its products and services using the Blizzard name.

“Battle.net technology will continue to serve as the central nervous system for Blizzard games-nothing is changing in that regard,” explains Blizzard. “We’ll just be referring to our various products and services using the Blizzard name instead. You’ve already seen this recently with things like “Blizzard Streaming” and “Blizzard Voice,” and more changes are on the way.”

Blizzard feels multiplayer is now so ingrained in the gaming experience that it no longer needs a separate identity.

“When we created Battle.net, the idea of including a tailored online-gaming service together with your game was more of a novel concept, so we put a lot of focus on explaining what the service was and how it worked, including giving it a distinct name,” says Blizzard.

“Over time, though, we’ve seen that there’s been occasional confusion and inefficiencies related to having two separate identities under which everything falls-Blizzard and Battle.net. Given that built-in multiplayer support is a well-understood concept and more of a normal expectation these days, there isn’t as much of a need to maintain a separate identity for what is essentially our networking technology.”

Source: Blizzard