Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime starts new game company, Dreamhaven

Blizzard co-founder and former president Mike Morhaime has launched a new game publishing and development company called Dreamhaven—and it already has two studios led by Blizzard veterans.

Mike Morhaime left the games industry in October 2018, but two years later, he’s introduced Dreamhaven with his wife Amy Morhaime. The company is based in Irvine, California and has established two studios: Moonshot and Secret Door.

Dreamhaven will take care of the general business matters, such as funding, and services like communications and human resources. But each studio will have the independence to make decisions about the games they create.

“They’re in control of their destiny and hopefully feel like they have the best of both worlds: the entrepreneurial spirit, the stability and resources that often only larger companies can provide,” Morhaime told GamesBeat.

Mike Morhaime is the CEO and Amy Morhaime will be in charge of operations. The funding for the creation of Dreamhaven is only coming from both of them in the early stages. They want to set the terms and values before seeking investments.

The company has 27 employees in total right now and it’s hiring more staff, but Dreamhaven doesn’t plan on expanding the studios’ teams to huge numbers.

Dreamhaven’s website offers information about the staff members’ careers. Each employee has a card with two sides, one about their career and one with their hobbies, the people they love, and things they like.

Moonshot is led by Hearthstone executive producer Jason Chayes, StarCraft 2 game director Dustin Browder, and Hearthstone creative director Ben Thompson. Secret Door is led by Hearthstone executive producer Chris Sigaty, Hearthstone game director Eric Dodds, and Alan Dabiri, who worked on Heroes of the Storm, Warcraft 3, and StarCraft 2.

The company hasn’t announced any game projects yet or the genres or platforms of future games. And there won’t be any announcements soon because it’s too early on.

Based on the design of each studio, Moonshot seems to be focused on a fantasy theme, while Secret Door transpires an RPG and action feel. “We’re almost trying to create a haven for creators who want an environment that is development-friendly, values product, and player experience over short-term financial pressures,” Morhaime said.

The values of the company are represented in the logo. Morhaime explained that the lighthouse is a beacon that inspires hope to others in the game industry. “There is a better way of approaching business and game creation that can work and be sustainable and be a lot of fun and yield positive results,” Morhaime said.