Former Call of Duty general manager announced as new president for Blizzard
Johanna Faries, who was previously serving as the general manager for Call of Duty at Activision, is now named the new president of Blizzard. She will take over the role after previous president Mike Ybarra resigned from his position amidst lay-offs.
She joined Activision back in 2018 as head of Call of Duty esports. A few years later, she took over her previous role of overseeing all things in Call of Duty.
However, things are reportedly tense over at Blizzard due to recent layoffs. While the company is a part of Activision, it operates independently. Last time, Booby Kotick from Activision was involved with Blizzard, Overwatch 2 saw some heat.
The involvement of another Activision employee might not be the best to elevate morale. However, in order to clear the air on the matter, Faries said, “Activision, Blizzard, and King are decidedly different companies with distinct games, cultures and communities.”
“I’ve discussed this with the Blizzard leadership team, and I’m walking into this role with sensitivity to those dynamics, and deep respect for Blizzard, as we begin to explore taking our universes to even higher heights”.
Blizzard struggling in recent years
Blizzard was once one of the biggest names in the gaming industry. While the current one may be huge financially, it is arguably the husk of what it was in its glory days. Games that used to be game of the year material are now the same yearly instalments.
Their most recent releases, Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 have seen rough launches. Overwatch 2 backtracked on a lot of promised things. Diablo 4 is also struggling to compete with decade-old games like Path of Exile after only three seasons.
While Faries have promised a lot of things, players are doubtful of anything big from the studio. Only time will tell how much of a change she brings to the company.
