J. Allen Brack leaves the Presidency of Blizzard - News - Mike Ybarra

It is in a context for the least complicated, and incidentally at a few hours of the presentation of the financial results of Activision Blizzard, that the Bobby Kotick group has just announced the departure of J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard since October 2018.

The group's communiqué does not focus on the reasons for this departure and simply mentions that J. Allen Brack leaves the company "_to seize new opportunities". J. Allen Brack had been appointed President of Blizzard in October 2018 to replace the historic CEO, Mike Morhaime. Present at Blizzard since January 2006, he has mainly worked on World of Warcraft until the executive producer and the vice-president. J. Allen Brack had strongly condemned the seriousness of the facts on his business in an email sent to the employees, but the excuses and the feeling of responsibility seemed more from the message of his predecessor, Mike Morhaime.

Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra take control

J. Allen Brack is replaced today by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra, named Blizzard coordinating. The first arrived at Blizzard in January 2021, but his appointment may be perceived as a strong sign in a context where women are most affected by the problems of sexism, harassment and discrimination. Jen Oneal is not an unknown within the group since it spent 14 years with Vicarious Visions, of whom almost 5 years as director of the studio, which has been recently absorbed by Blizzard. As for Mike Ybarra, it has long been proven by working far from 20 years for Microsoft, including 10 years old at XBOX. At the time of leaving the company in 2019, he had become vice-president of Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass and mix.

"The two leaders are deeply committed to all our employees, to the work to be done so that Blizzard is the safest and most welcoming place for women and people of any kind, any ethnic origin or sexual orientation, towards the maintenance and strengthening of our values ​​and to the restoration of your trust. Strong of their many years of experience in the sector and their deep commitment to integrity and inclusion, JEN and Mike will lead Blizzard with care, compassion and dedication to excellence ", says Daniel Alegre, Director of Blizzard Activision Operations.

As everyone knows, J. Allen Brack's sudden departure is part of a highly particular context in the wake of the California Civil Laws Agency's overwhelming survey on gender-based cultivation in the Activision Blizzard, Survey that has raised dozens of testimonials of employees and former employees corroborating harassment and discrimination facts. Faced with the lack of seriousness of management, the rebellious employees took the lead to seek change. They have for that lying on paper a number of requirements and strikes last Wednesday to demonstrate in front of the Blizzard campus, California.

In view of the magnitude of the situation, the CEO Bobby Kotick had published a response by making a number of promises to no longer let this type of act, without responding to all employee applications. And if the departure of J. Allen Brack is not presented as a dismissal, it can be noted that Kotick's commitments aimed at "assessing the leaders and leaders of the company" to punish those who would have not taken the necessary measures in the light of the complaints of employees. Although many allegations date out of its mandate as President, a 2010 video has recently resolved in which J. Allen Brack and his colleagues take moderately seriously the remark of a Blizzcon participant who was on Excessive sexual sexualization in World of Warcraft.