Activision Blizzard’s stocks went down by over 16% after Blizzard co-leader, Jen Oneal stepped down from her role three months after J.Allen Brack’s departure from the company, making Mike Ybarra the sole leader of the company.
“I want you to hear from me personally that I have made the decision to step away from co-leading Blizzard Entertainment and will transition to a new position before departing ABK at the end of the year. Effective immediately, Mike Ybarra will lead Blizzard.” Oneal said in a statement on Blizzard’s newsletter. “I am doing this not because I am without hope for Blizzard, quite the opposite–I’m inspired by the passion of everyone here, working towards meaningful, lasting change with their whole hearts. This energy has inspired me to step out and explore how I can do more to have games and diversity intersect, and hopefully make a broader industry impact that will benefit Blizzard (and other studios) as well. While I am not totally sure what form that will take, I am excited to embark on a new journey to find out.”
During the investors’ meeting, the publisher also announced that Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV have been delayed, stating that “these decisions will push out the financial uplift that we had expected to see next year. But we are confident that this is the right course of action for our people, our players, and the long-term success of our franchises.” While there was no concrete release date in the first place, Overwatch 2 was expected to release sometime in 2022.
Despite the delay, the upcoming season of Overwatch League will still feature an early build of Overwatch 2 for its 5v5 competitive multiplayer mode.
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