Blizzard hits Austin

The Irvine, California-based developer of the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft is expanding its operations to the North American hub of MMOG development--Austin, Texas. Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed an Austin Business Journal report that the company is opening a customer-support center in the Texas capital.

"The city has a vibrant and dynamic community with a well-established tech industry and a highly regarded university system," a Blizzard representative told GameSpot. "It's also a major hub for call centers in North America. World of Warcraft has fueled explosive growth in our customer service department, so we're looking forward to attracting talented professionals from the region."

The representative invited Austinites with a passion for gaming in general, and World of Warcraft in particular, to apply for job openings. More details can be found in a new posting on the Blizzard jobs page.

The new facility in Austin raises the question of Blizzard potentially opening up a development studio in the MMOG talent-rich city, but the company's representative denied the suggestion.

"We don't have any current plans to form a development studio in Austin. For now, our expansion in the region will be focused on game masters, as well as quality-control and internal support staff," the rep said.