Game publisher Blizzard Entertainment Korea received an award from the state-run Korea Student Aid Foundation on Thursday for supporting youths.
Blizzard -- known for hit games “Starcraft,” “World of Warcraft,” “Hearthstone” and “Overwatch” -- has been providing scholarships and overseas training for youths who dream of careers in information technology and games.

Since 2014, it has run the corporate social responsibility program Realize Your Dream in Korea. 

Beneficiaries comprised students who show potential in IT and games. They received scholarships and the opportunity to attend the global game festival BlizzCon as well as tour the Blizzard headquarters in Irvine, California.

Blizzard’s relationship with KSAF goes beyond the program.

From 2010 to 2018, the game publisher has given scholarships to a total of 217 students. Since 2015, 57 students have been invited to experience the game industry first-hand. In 2018, 12 students were given the chance to personally meet with J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment, and Korean developers working at Blizzard for a mentorship session.

Furthermore, in July 2018, Blizzard delivered proceeds of $12.7 million from the sale of charity T-shirts to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation as part of the campaign “Pink Mercy,” based on Mercy, a character with a healer role in “Overwatch.” According to the foundation, this was the biggest donation from a partner company in a year since it was established in 1993.

Blizzard also regularly donates proceeds from in-game pet sales from “World of Warcraft” to nonprofit organization code.org, which works to expand computer science education to the underprivileged.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)