Michael Morhaime was born on November 3, 1967. He is an American video game developer and business leader. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) and founder of Dreamhaven, a company based in Irvine, California. Morhaime is well known for being a co-founder and former president of Blizzard Entertainment, a company owned by Activision Blizzard, Inc. Blizzard Entertainment was formed in 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse. From January 1999 to July 2008, Morhaime was part of the leadership team at Vivendi Games, which owned Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. during that time.

Early life and education

Morhaime was born into a Jewish family and graduated from Granada Hills High School in 1985. He is also a graduate of Triangle Fraternity and earned his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering in 1990 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

In sixth grade, Morhaime, along with his brother and sister, bought a video game console called the Bally Professional Arcade, first released in 1978. He discovered that the console could be programmed and taught himself to write simple games on it. He used examples from a gaming newsletter to learn how to do this.

As an electrical engineering student at UCLA, Morhaime focused more on hardware than on software. He admitted he often delayed his work. His attitude changed after he started an internship at a San Jose microchip company. During the internship, he learned about circuit design. When he returned to school, he was ahead of his computer architecture class. He said he used to sit in the back of the class, but after his time in Silicon Valley, he began sitting up front.

Career

While at UCLA, Morhaime became friends with Allen Adham after discovering they both used the same computer password, "Joe." After graduating, Adham encouraged Morhaime to turn down a job offer from Western Digital and instead start a company called Silicon & Synapse in February 1991. The company later changed its name to Blizzard Entertainment. They hired their friend Frank Pearce, also a UCLA graduate, and rented a small office in Irvine, California, to be close to other technology businesses.

In 1995, Blizzard released Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, which became its first game to sell the most copies. Morhaime said, "It's probably the game that put Blizzard on the map." The game was special because it allowed players to play online with others, which was new at the time and helped make later games popular.

When planning to release World of Warcraft (WoW) in late 2004, Morhaime believed the game would not sell quickly. The game was bigger and more interactive than previous ones and required players to pay a monthly fee. Morhaime said, "We felt the fee might stop people from buying it, and WoW would not sell as fast as our earlier games." All of Blizzard’s decisions were based on this belief. However, WoW sold very quickly, surprising the company. Morhaime said, "We struggled to keep up with demand for the first year." By 2010, World of Warcraft had about 11 million players. In 2017, Morhaime earned $12.3 million as Blizzard’s CEO.

On October 3, 2018, Morhaime announced he would leave his role as Blizzard’s president and CEO to become a company advisor. J. Allen Brack, who worked on World of Warcraft, took over as the new leader. Morhaime’s advisory role ended on April 7, 2019.

In 2020, Morhaime started a new video game company called Dreamhaven, based in Irvine, California. The company has two internal studios: Secret Door and Moonshot Games.

In 2025, Dreamhaven released its first games made by its own studios. Secret Door launched Sunderfolk, a cooperative tactical RPG, on April 23 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. Moonshot Games released Wildgate, a crew-based space shooter, on July 22 for Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Controversy

In July 2021, after Morhaime left Blizzard, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) (previously called the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) brought a legal case against Activision Blizzard. The lawsuit claimed the company allowed sexual harassment and unfair treatment based on gender, including unequal pay and punishing female workers for reporting issues.

At the same time, former Blizzard employees shared their experiences about harassment they saw or faced at the company. A former manager at FXOpen Esports, a competitive gaming brand, shared on social media about an event at a Blizzard holiday party. During this event, a senior creative director kissed her in front of other Blizzard employees, including Morhaime, who was the president and CEO at the time. Although Morhaime was not named in the lawsuit, some employees were unsure if he knew about the allegations. Many employees confirmed Morhaime was present at company events where the alleged misconduct occurred. Morhaime later posted an apology on Twitter, stating he was “ashamed” about the lawsuit several days after the news became public.

Honors and awards

In 2008, Morhaime was added to the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. That same year, Morhaime received an award at the 59th Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for Blizzard's creation of World of Warcraft. Morhaime, along with Don Daglow of Stormfront Studios and John Carmack of id Software, is one of only three designers or producers to receive awards at both the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Interactive Achievement Awards.

In 2012, Morhaime was given the national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Technology category. In 2019, Morhaime was given the Honor Award at Gamelab Barcelona, Spain, for his achievements in the gaming industry.

Multimedia

In 2012, Morhaime appeared briefly in The Guild, an online show that follows the lives of gamers playing an MMORPG, which includes references to World of Warcraft. He is known for his contributions to the gaming community and was involved in creating the 2016 film Warcraft: The Beginning.

Personal life

In 2010, Morhaime married his longtime girlfriend, Amy Chen. In 2017, Morhaime purchased a mansion in a gated community in Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California, for $2.25 million. He is a member of Elite Tauren Chieftain, a metal band made up of Blizzard employees, where he plays bass guitar.