Man returns ‘StarCraft’ source code to Blizzard, gets rewarded handsomely

When a man purchased a “lot off eBay with a ton of Blizzard stuff” in April, he was not sure what the box would contain, but he certainly wasn’t expecting to receive a near priceless piece of Blizzard Entertainment’s history — the original StarCraft‘s “Gold Master Source Code” disc, printed in 1998.

As reported by Kotaku, Reddit user Khemist49 posted about his perplexing find and initially wasn’t sure what to do with the disc. Naturally, some users asked him to copy the contents of the disc and upload them for all to see, but others chimed in to say it would be wrong to reveal Blizzard’s secrets. Blizzard apparently got wind of the ordeal and had its legal team politely ask him to return the gold disc that housed “intellectual property and trade secrets.” The man inevitably took the safest route and obliged with Blizzard’s request.

Blizzard, in turn, gave him a copy of Overwatch and $250 Blizzard store credit. However, it seems that Blizzard thought that was not a big enough reward. A Blizzard rep called Khemist49 to ask if he was familiar with BlizCon, the yearly convention that celebrates and promotes all things Blizzard. Khemist49, living on the East Coast, has not been able to make it out to California event in the past, and as he noted to the rep, tickets tend to sell out fast. Well, Khemist’s honorable deed will now be rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to BlizzCon.

To sweeten the deal even more, Blizzard sent him a box of Blizzard-themed gaming gear: An Overwatch edition of the Razer Blackwidow Chroma keyboard, matching headphones, mouse, and mouse pad. Additionally, he received a Diablo-themed bottle opener and journal.

This is a story with a happy ending for both parties, but not without a few plot holes. We can assume that the disc had either been lost or stolen many years back, but what was it doing on eBay in the first place? Khemist49 presumed that the stuff came from a random storage unit, so perhaps the person who owned the unit didn’t even know the invaluable disc was there. And perhaps it is fitting that Blizzard’s trade secrets could have literally been locked away for years despite the disc not even being in its possession.