World of Warcraft's Seth Sivak Tips the Dealer

Our guest this week is Seth Sivak, VP Development for World of Warcraft at Blizzard. From early years at Zynga he became Founder and CEO of Proletariat, shipping big games like Spellbreak. We discuss being an Imagineer, the three components of creative decisions and "always be pitching" - this week! 

Episode Highlights

[00:00:00] Why Games Fail: No Audience, No Hype
Seth explains how several recent games failed not from poor quality, but because they launched without building an audience—resulting in commercial flops despite decent reviews.

[00:07:00] Raising $20M for Spellbreak: Inside Proletariat’s Biggest Funding Round
Hear how Seth and his team secured a major investment led by Take-Two in 2019, helping scale the studio and pave the way for Spellbreak’s development and Blizzard’s later acquisition.

[00:10:00] Defining the Product Manager Role in Game Development
Seth shares what it meant to be a PM at Zynga during the Facebook gaming boom—managing features like a mini-CEO and driving rapid iteration cycles across live games.

[00:20:00] Hug the Sloth: A “Gold Spike” Game That Taught the Basics
Learn how a quirky internal prototype helped the team test monetization, push notifications, and Facebook login—building foundational tech for future projects.

[00:25:00] Launch Ugly, Learn Fast: Why Early Testing Beats Polish
Seth recalls releasing a graybox version of Spellbreak to tens of thousands of players—proving that testing gameplay early matters more than perfecting visuals.

[00:45:00] Streamline’s Collapse: How a Twitch Partnership Nearly Killed the Studio
A promising Amazon deal turned into a disaster, forcing Proletariat within 72 hours of shutdown. Seth details how they navigated this near-death experience.

[00:55:00] Spellbreak’s Origins: From Magic Arrows to Spell Combinations
Discover how a spark of inspiration—combining magic attacks in unexpected ways—led to the creation of Spellbreak’s core mechanic and ultimately shaped its success.

[01:03:00] Discord Growth and a Viral Trailer: The Road to Acquisition
After two failed term sheets, a viral trailer and massive Discord surge helped Proletariat land an Epic Games deal—fueling momentum toward Blizzard’s acquisition.

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