Blizzard, now a Microsoft subsidiary of course, has gone through something of a shake up in the last couple of weeks. And now the company has confirmed ex-Call of Duty boss Johanna Faries as its next head honcho, following the unexpected departure of Mike Ybarra last week. Faries, who previously spent 12 years working for the NFL, has been with Activision since 2018.
As Bloomberg reports, the move may be seen as somewhat unexpected, considering the historical tensions between Activision and Blizzard, despite them being part of the same overall organisation. Faries acknowledged this in a note to staff earlier in the week, noting “Activision, Blizzard, and King are decidedly different companies with distinct games, cultures, and communities”.
“It is important to note that Call of Duty’s way of waking up in the morning to deliver for players can often differ from the stunning games in Blizzard’s realm: each with different gameplay experiences, communities that surround them, and requisite models of success,” she stressed. “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.”
With Faries shifting over to Blizzard, Call of Duty’s current Vice President of Product Management Matt Cox will take over as head of that franchise. All of this is relevant to PlayStation, of course, because despite Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the publisher has committed to releasing at least Call of Duty on Sony’s consoles for the next ten years – and live service titles like Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 will continue to be updated on PS5 and PS4, too.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 32
Do these people hear themselves? Do they still know how normal human beings talk?
Removed - offensive remarks
@Olmaz Must admit, I also found that a bit weird.
@Olmaz Sounds like a brilliant AI response there are not many suits that have any idea about games but still lead these companies sadly.
Weird choice but I guess they needed a female in there
I'm not gonna be cynical... I'm not gonna be cynical... I'm not gonna say it... 😬 She's definitely the perfect candidate for the job in 2024.
Just yankin' yer chains! Lol or am I? I just don't know any more 😭
Anyway, I doubt replacing the CEO will bring about that much of a change and if they do, it won't be for a while. They're gonna need a company-wide upgrade. Fingers crossed for her and the company though 🤞
@Flaming_Kaiser You must be right. This is my first try on ChatGPT with the prompt : "make a note to staff from the new Blizzard CEO, who was the director of the Call of Duty franchise before"
Subject: A New Chapter Begins
Dear Blizzard Team,
I am thrilled to address you all as the new CEO of Blizzard Entertainment. Having previously served as the Director of the Call of Duty franchise, I bring with me a deep passion for gaming and a commitment to fostering creativity, innovation, and a positive work environment.
Blizzard has a rich history of creating immersive and groundbreaking experiences that have captivated millions of players around the world. As we embark on this new chapter together, I am excited about the potential for growth, collaboration, and elevating our beloved franchises to new heights.
Our community of players is at the heart of everything we do, and their passion drives us to deliver exceptional gaming experiences. I believe in the power of strong teamwork and the collective creativity that each one of you brings to the table. Together, we will continue to build worlds that resonate with our players and leave a lasting impact on the gaming industry.
Transparency and open communication are key pillars of my leadership style. I am committed to fostering an environment where everyone's voice is heard, and ideas are valued. We will work together to create an inclusive workplace that champions diversity and supports each individual in reaching their full potential.
Blizzard has a legacy of excellence, and I am honored to lead this talented team. Let's continue to push boundaries, challenge ourselves, and most importantly, create games that bring joy and excitement to players worldwide.
I look forward to meeting each of you personally and working together to shape the future of Blizzard Entertainment.
Thank you for your dedication and passion.
Sincerely,
[New CEO's Name]
CEO, Blizzard Entertainment
@Olmaz Wow that is proper creepy... at least we know that the CEO's are one of the first to be replaced in a fully automated/AI future 😌
@Loamy To be fair to ChatGPT, her actual note is far worse : https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzard/24062302/introducing-johanna-faries-as-the-new-president-of-blizzard-entertainment
It's full of gems like this :
I'm sure the next-to-be-fired employees who will have to inject microtransactions and free-to-play mechanics into their games are very happy to know she likes yoga and prays regularly.
@Olmaz Sounds like she's straight outta GTA with that depressing satirical spin 😫🤣
That is good for her
The way these corporate execs speak and behave could make them easily replaceable by an AI.
Removed - flaming/arguing
Who cares about her previous credentials being non-gaming?!
Reggie Fils-Aime had a history with Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, Guinness, Derby Cycle, Panda Express, and VH1 before going to Nintendo of America and he did a great job, if you ask me!
Removed - offensive remarks
One useless suit replaces another. Get paid millions of dollars to babysit the actual creatives. Execs in creative fields just seem so pointless to me.
It is nice to see a woman in an important position like this, for a long time Blizzard has a been a cool dudes group.
That said, kinda sucks that we have an Activision person leading Blizz, for years they have tried to fight the influence of Activision in Blizzard and now, well.....
At least she might tackle the frat boy culture, and I'm hoping she does well in the job.
Its pretty scary how alike that ChatGPT script is to her actual staff note. I'm assuming chatGPT simply looked that up and repeated lots of it.....
@Jayslow Well, that's not judicious, isn't it? The role of creatives is to create. The role of executives is to manage. Creative people are generally very bad at managing what they create, so they need people to help them monetize and streamline, etc their products.
The issue is when a management that doesn't care about the art/entertainment takes over the creative part of an endeavor that is, in its core, creative like video games (you can apply to any other entertainment) : you get committee produced, MTX riddled, live service pieces of *****.
But let the creative run wild without management and you get niche indies with no funding to have any real scope.
@Titntin No, ChatGPT (at least the free version, couldn't say for any paid version) doesn't use any internet database from before January 2022.
@Olmaz Thanks for the info. Thats pretty daming then - looks like she got AI to write her staff note!
Given the money she will be earning , thats a pretty good gig if you can get it
If she can save ow2, great. I doubt anything will change. Something abk needs to understand is that their individual identity will be stripped from them as they become Microsoft studios. Hopefully this will fix things inside Activision. Where old feuds between treyarch and infinity ward still exists to this day. Pretty safe to say that those two constantly disrupt things for other studios and are partly responsible for sledgehammer problems over the last decade.
@Athrum why? So you can see her fail instead of a man?
Not entirely sure why this is important to you, unless you need a pretty face to screw people over in order to make yourself feel better.
Do you realize how sexist you sound saying something like that?
This person is just another executive, we will see if she is worth the money she's being paid or just another over paid executive bringing her own brand of toxic, disruptive, and company ruining behavior before she bails with her golden parachute.
@NotSoCryptic Did you actually read what I wrote?
Removed - flaming/arguing
Do you think that gaming companies will ever start hiring people who, ya, know, love games?
This comment section is a mess 😂
@Athrum I understand your comment and whilst I don't agree with it completely I didn't see anything sexist about your opinion. A woman in charge will iron out the alleged frat boy culture there which is good. I just hope that games like call of duty and diablo get back on track and return to being what they once were and not the cash grubbing things they are now.
@Jammsbro When the people who loves videos games get the required education, experience, and networking to get a job in this high of a position. Usually the people who like video games don’t have to personality for these kinda of roles, and would rather stay at the front playing, making them, or talking about them. Not handing the day to day mundane business aspect of it.
@Olmaz That's kinda messed up. 🤣
@Valkyrian they didn't NEED to do anything of the sort.
It's like having a man as the head of the Girl Scouts.
i’m here for the comments 🍿
Tap here to load 32 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...