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Blizzard introduced right this moment that Johanna Faries will change into the brand new president of Blizzard beginning on February 5. She has been the Geneal Supervisor of Name of Responsibility for nearly three years.
Faries will step into her position at an important and dangerous time for Blizzard. The studio was severely impacted by layoffs final week, and stories have said {that a} survival recreation that Blizzard was engaged on is now cancelled.
Blizzard has created among the largest hits within the business, together with the web recreation World of Warcraft and the team-based shooter Overwatch. Whereas Blizzard did have a robust launch final 12 months with Diablo IV, a few of its different video games are slowing down. Hearthstone is previous its prime, and Overwatch has struggled to take care of its momentum after transitioning to the free-to-play Overwatch 2.
The studio has additionally had challenges holding onto a pacesetter since co-founder and former CEO Mike Morhaime left in 2019. J. Allen Brack took over, however he would go away August 2021 following a tenure full of controversy, notably allegations of a poisonous office tradition and sexual harassment at Blizzard.
Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra then got here onboard as co-leads, however Oneal would go away by the tip of the 12 months. Ybarra introduced his departure final week proper round when the information of the layoffs broke.
Faries is the primary Blizzard president appointed since Xbox acquired Activision. Nonetheless, Faries is coming from throughout the Activision Blizzard King sphere. As GM of Name of Responsibility, she one of many largest moneymakers in all of gaming. Earlier than she turned GM, she labored on the esports facet of the franchise. That additionally makes her an excellent match at Blizzard, since lots of its video games have aggressive scenes (though the as soon as distinguished Overwatch League isn’t any extra).
She could have many challenges to deal with at a studio that has suffered from a number of setbacks lately. Diablo IV had an enormous launch, however gamers quickly complained about development and content material. World of Warcraft has introduced an bold roadmap for a number of expansions, however now the studio must ship on these guarantees. And Overwatch 2 must discover a technique to win again gamers after cancelling its bold and promised cooperative mode.
The latest layoffs will make addressing these challenges even tougher than they wanted to be.
“I’m dedicated to doing every part I can to assist Blizzard thrive, with care and consideration for you and for our video games, every distinctive and particular in their very own proper,” Faries famous in her introduction letter to Blizzard. “I’m optimistic about our capability to serve our present and future participant communities, and to additional amplify the shared ardour for greatness, polish and artistic mastery that may be a hallmark of Blizzard’s strategy to game-making.”
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