Time of permutations. Blizzard President and CEO Michael Morhaime has stepped down from management. He managed the company for more than 27 years.
Michael, who is also one of the three co-founders of Blizzard, is not leaving the company. He remains with her as an adviser.
Michael Morheim
The reasons for the resignation are not openly stated in the appeal Morheim, nor in the official press release. Michael only clarifies that after so many years of leadership, he decided that it was time to give the reins of government into other hands.
The new president of Blizzard is Jay Allen Brack (J. Allen Brack). In the company, he was responsible for the development of World of Warcraft for 12 years — first as a senior producer, and in recent years as a senior vice president for the title.
Jay Allen Brack
As part of his appointment, two more Blizzard veterans will receive two senior positions.
The post of director of development was given to Ray Gresko, who was vice president and product director of the company for ten years. In particular, he launched the development of Hearthstone and was responsible for the creation of Diablo III and Overwatch.
Allen Adham also joined the team of executive directors. The latter is one of the founders of Blizzard and the leading designer of World of Warcraft.
The reshuffle took place against the background of an extremely successful launch of the addition to World of Warcraft — Battle for Azeroth. Thanks to him, the game earned $161 million in August alone. This is her best result since 2014.
Despite the fact that Morheim can be understood (almost 30 years of working in one company in a managerial position is a lot), it seems suspicious that the announcement took place just a month before the company’s annual festival — Blizzcon. Within the framework of the event, it would look much more logical.
Michael’s departure is not the first major resignation at Blizzard in recent years. In the spring of 2018, Ben Brode, the head of the Hearthstone team, left the company. In September 2016 , he resigned Chris Metzen, who was the creative director on most of the studio’s titles.
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