Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime (on the right in the photo) has been honored as the 11th inductee in the Hall of Fame by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

The academy said Morhaime was selected “for his role in expanding the MMOG audience beyond the hardcore.” He will receive the award Feb. 7 in Las Vegas:

“The success that Blizzard Entertainment has had over the years would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and support of players around the world, and the passion and dedication of our employees, so I thank all of them for contributing to this achievement,” said Morhaime in a statement.

Other Hall of Famers include Trip Hawkins, Peter Molyneux, Yu Suzuki, Will Wright, John Carmack, Hironobu Sakaguchi , Sid Meier, Shigeru Miyamoto, Richard Garriott and Danielle Bunten Berry.

This is Blizzard’s biggest nod from the academy, which previously gave the game company one award in 2005 for “Massively Multiplayer/Persistent World Game of the Year.” That same year, Half-Life 2 was given three awards in categories that included World of Warcraft as a nominee.

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