{{short description|American video game publisher and developer}} {{Use American English|date=April 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox company | name = Dreamhaven | logo = frameless|class=skin-invert | industry = Video games | founded = September 2020 | hq_location_city = Irvine, California | hq_location_country = US | key_people = Michael Morhaime | website = {{URL|dreamhaven.com}} }}
'''Dreamhaven''' is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. Dreamhaven was founded in 2020 by Blizzard Entertainment co-founder Michael Morhaime, Amy Morhaime, and previous Blizzard employees.
Dreamhaven consists of two internal game development studios, '''Moonshot Games''' and '''Secret Door'''. The company also publishes games developed by external studios through its publishing and partner-studio operations.
== History == On October 3, 2018, Blizzard Entertainment announced that its co-founder, Michael Morhaime, would be stepping down from his role as company president.<ref name="gi departure">{{cite web |last1=Valentine |first1=Rebekah |title=J Allen Brack succeeds Mike Morhaime as president of Blizzard Entertainment |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/j-allen-brack-succeeds-mike-morhaime-as-president-of-blizzard-entertainment |website=gamesindustry.biz |date=October 3, 2018 |publisher=Games Industry.biz |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref> Morhaime would continue to work with Blizzard as a strategic advisor until April 7, 2019.<ref name="gi departure 2">{{cite web |last1=Batchelor |first1=James |title=Mike Morhaime fully departs Blizzard this April |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/mike-morhaime-fully-departs-blizzard-this-april |website=gamesindustry.biz |date=January 11, 2019 |publisher=Games Industry.biz}}</ref>
Morhaime announced the formation of Dreamhaven, a new video game company based in Irvine, on September 23, 2020.<ref name="ocbj">{{cite web |last1=Costelloe |first1=Kevin |title=Mike Morhaime Forms New Gaming Company in Irvine |url=https://www.ocbj.com/entertainment-2/mike-morhaime-forms-new-gaming-company-irvine/ |website=ocbj.com |date=September 23, 2020 |publisher=Orange County Business Journal |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref> The company was founded by Morhaime, his wife Amy, and a group of his former colleagues. All but one of the initial 27 employees of Dreamhaven had previously worked for Blizzard.<ref name="wapo announce">{{cite news |last1=Schiesel |first1=Seth |title=Longtime Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime starting new game studios and publishing company |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/09/23/mike-morhaime-blizzard-dreamhaven/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=13 April 2025 |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218055147/https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/09/23/mike-morhaime-blizzard-dreamhaven/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="wapo qa">{{cite news |last1=Schiesel |first1=Seth |title=Amy and Mike Morhaime take questions about their new venture, Dreamhaven |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/09/23/amy-mike-morhaime-qa/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=13 April 2025 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128021617/https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/09/23/amy-mike-morhaime-qa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Dreamhaven was announced as both a game development and publishing company. The company would develop its own games through two internal studios, '''Moonshot Games''' and '''Secret Door''', each of which was already developing its first game at the time of the announcement. Alongside its internal development efforts, the company would also work with external developers to publish their games.<ref name="jason 1">{{cite web |last1=Schreier |first1=Jason |title=Blizzard Co-Founder's New Company Dreamhaven Aims to Recreate the Old Magic |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-09-18/blizzard-co-founder-s-new-company-dreamhaven-aims-to-recreate-the-old-magic |website=bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref>
The company's structure included a central support team for publishing, partnerships, operations and other shared functions. This allowed Dreamhaven to operate as both a home for internal studios and a publishing partner for independent developers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dreamhaven |url=https://www.dreamhaven.com/ |website=Dreamhaven |access-date=May 6, 2026}}</ref>
In March 2025, Dreamhaven held a showcase presented in partnership with The Game Awards, where it announced or updated several projects from its internal studios and partner studios, including ''Wildgate'', ''Sunderfolk'', ''Lynked: Banner of the Spark'' and ''Mechabellum''.<ref name="ign showcase">{{cite web |last1=Valentine |first1=Rebekah |title=Dreamhaven Showcase Pulls Back Curtain on Former Blizzard Leads' New Adventure |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/dreamhaven-showcase-pulls-back-curtain-on-former-blizzard-leads-new-adventure |website=ign.com |date=March 25, 2025 |publisher=IGN |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref>
== Games == ===Publishing and partner studios=== ====''Lynked: Banner of Spark''==== In September 2024, Dreamhaven announced it would partner with indie game studio FuzzyBot Games to publish the studio's first game, ''Lynked: Banner of Spark''. CEO of FuzzyBot Games Tatyana Dyshlova, when asked about why the studio partnered with Dreamhaven, said that Dreamhaven provided "a viable future for the studio and how the terms were presented beyond just this game."<ref name="gi lynxed">{{cite web |last1=Batchelor |first1=James |title=How Mike Morhaime's Dreamhaven helps indies with "the good, bad and ugly" of launching games |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/how-mike-morhaimes-dreamhaven-helps-indies-with-the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-launching-games |website=gamesindustry.biz |date=September 19, 2024 |publisher=Games Industry.biz |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref> Dyshlova also noted that the Dreamhaven team's industry background was part of the studio's decision. Paul Della Bitta, who leads Dreamhaven's publishing efforts, said that the decision to publish ''Lynked'' was influenced by the development pace of FuzzyBot Games.<ref name="gi lynxed" />
The game was scheduled for an early access release on October 22, 2024 and a full release on May 22, 2025.<ref name="gameinform showcase">{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Marcus |title=Everything Announced At The Dreamhaven Showcase |url=https://gameinformer.com/2025/03/26/everything-announced-at-the-dreamhaven-showcase |website=gameinformer.com |publisher=Game Informer |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref> Dreamhaven later announced that the 1.0 release was available on Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on May 22, 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lynked: Banner of the Spark™ Out Now on PC & Consoles |url=https://www.dreamhaven.com/updates |website=Dreamhaven |date=May 22, 2025 |access-date=May 6, 2026}}</ref>
====''Mechabellum''==== {{main|Mechabellum}} In March 2025, Dreamhaven announced a publishing partnership with Chinese development studio '''Game River''' to publish its strategy game '''''Mechabellum'''''. ''Mechabellum'' had been released in early access in September 2024 under a different publishing arrangement, but the game was later relaunched with Dreamhaven as publisher after Game River exited its original publishing deal.<ref name="vb mechabellum">{{cite web |last1=Takahashi |first1=Dean |title=Mechabellum gets a second chance as Dreamhaven relaunches the mech autobattler |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/mechabellum-gets-a-second-chance-as-dreamhaven-relaunches-the-mech-autobattler/ |website=venturebeat.com |date=March 25, 2025 |publisher=Venture Beat |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref>
Amy Morhaime, speaking on behalf of Dreamhaven, said the company became aware of the game after fans of Blizzard's StarCraft reached out to them. Michael Morhaime described the game favorably, saying that Dreamhaven believed people would continue playing it in the future. Game River CEO Wen Youge said that, with Dreamhaven's support, the studio was focused on providing additional content for the game throughout 2025.<ref name="vb mechabellum" />
===Moonshot Games=== ====''Wildgate''==== {{Expand section|date=April 2025}} In March 2025, Moonshot Games announced its first video game, '''''Wildgate''''', during a Dreamhaven showcase in partnership with The Game Awards. The game was described as a crew-based first-person shooter in which players work together aboard spaceships while competing against other crews.<ref name="ign showcase" />
''Wildgate'' combines ship-to-ship combat with first-person boarding and on-foot combat. Players form crews, search for an artifact, gather upgrades and fight rival crews during match-based sessions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carpenter |first1=Lincoln |title=Wildgate, the match-based Sea of Thieves in space from Mike Morhaime's new game company, launches this July |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/wildgate-the-match-based-sea-of-thieves-in-space-from-mike-morhaimes-new-game-company-launches-this-july/ |website=PC Gamer |date=June 6, 2025 |access-date=May 6, 2026}}</ref> Dreamhaven announced an open beta for June 9–16, 2025, followed by release on July 22, 2025 for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wildgate™ Launches July 22! |url=https://www.dreamhaven.com/news/wildgate-tm-launches-july-22 |website=Dreamhaven |date=June 6, 2025 |access-date=May 6, 2026}}</ref>
===Secret Door=== {{redirect|Secret Door|the Arctic Monkeys song|Humbug (album)}} ====''Sunderfolk''==== {{Expand section|date=April 2025}} In 2024, Secret Door announced development of its first game, '''''Sunderfolk'''''. The game has been described as a "couch co-op tactical RPG you play with a phone."<ref name="ars sunderfolk">{{cite web |last1=Purdy |first1=Kevin |title=Sunderfolk is a couch co-op tactical RPG you play with a phone. No, really. |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/10/sunderfolk-is-a-couch-co-op-tactical-rpg-you-play-with-a-phone-no-really/ |website=arstechnica.com |date=October 10, 2024 |publisher=Ars Technica |access-date=13 April 2025}}</ref>
''Sunderfolk'' is a turn-based tactical role-playing game designed around shared-screen play, with players using a companion phone app as a controller. The game supports up to four players and includes online play through screen sharing in addition to its local cooperative focus.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sunderfolk |url=https://dreamhaven.com/games/sunderfolk |website=Dreamhaven |access-date=May 6, 2026}}</ref> Dreamhaven announced April 23, 2025 as the official release date for ''Sunderfolk'' during its 2025 showcase.<ref name='ign showcase' /> The game was released for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sunderfolk™ Is Live! |url=https://www.dreamhaven.com/updates |website=Dreamhaven |date=April 23, 2025 |access-date=May 6, 2026}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Companies based in Irvine, California Category:Video game companies based in Greater Los Angeles Category:Video game companies established in 2020 Category:Video game development companies Category:Video game publishers