As a development studio, Blizzard is many things to many people -- a group of gods to be worshipped, a company that consistently delays games, something in between, etc. What it is not, however, is unsuccessful. Its games have broken records, made parent company Vivendi Universal Games an attractive acquisition target, and established fanatical fanbases over the years. It's a juggernaut. So when a handful of Blizzard's key players left in mid-2003 to start up their own studio Flagship, people paid attention.