In the last week or so, we’ve learned about the state of California filing a lawsuit against Blizzard citing numerous stories of sexual harassment and discrimination at the company. The revelations have been followed by even more stories of unacceptable behavior by leaders of the company, and now the president of Blizzard (who was named in the lawsuit) is leaving the company “to pursue new opportunities.”
Employees were informed of J. Allen Brack’s departure this morning, and an announcement from Activision Blizzard says that former Vicarious Visions leader Jen Oneal and former Xbox executive Mike Ybarra will take over as co-leaders of the company. Brack took over Blizzard in 2018, and prior to that, he led the development of World of Warcraft, where the team included the only other person specifically named in the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) lawsuit, Alex Afrasiabi.
Ahead of their walkout, employees made a list with four demands including an audit of executive staff, an end to forced arbitration clauses, and other changes to improve diversity and equity for marginalized groups at the company. These demands followed an inconsistent and self-admittedly “tone deaf” response from the company, including a letter from Brack where he claimed to have fought “bro culture” throughout his career — despite the lawsuit alleging he was aware of and enabling the behavior cited.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has not addressed the issues since his letter last week, and the announcement of Brack’s departure comes from COO Daniel Alegre. Saying that Oneal and Ybarra “will share responsibility for development and operational accountability” at Blizzard, he noted that Oneal has been providing leadership and support for the Overwatch and Diablo franchises, while Ybarra has been an EVP overseeing Battle.net since joining Blizzard in 2019.
J. Allen Brack:
I am confident that Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will provide the leadership Blizzard needs to realize its full potential and will accelerate the pace of change. I anticipate they will do so with passion and enthusiasm and that they can be trusted to lead with the highest levels of integrity and commitment to the components of our culture that make Blizzard so special.
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