Last week, employees of Activision Blizzard staged a walkout to protest alleged discrimination and sexual harassment, and an overall toxic work environment. On July 20, the studio, known for its popular titles such as World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch & Call of Duty, was hit by a lawsuit by the state of California and is being investigated for misconduct and unlawful behavior.
Following these allegations, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack will be stepping down to “pursue new opportunities” according to Activision Blizzard’s upper management. Brack’s name was mentioned in the lawsuit and was criticized for failing to stop an employee from harassing his female co-workers.
Brack will be replaced by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra, who will “co-lead Blizzard moving forward.” Oneal was the head of Vicarious Visions (now owned by Activision Blizzard) and joined Blizzard in January as the Executive Vice President of development while Ybarra joined Blizzard in 2019 as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of platform and technology after working for Xbox as the Corporate Vice President, responsible for Xbox Live services.
“I am confident that Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will provide the leadership Blizzard needs to realize its full potential and will accelerate the pace of change,” Brack said, in a final statement shared by Blizzard.
“I anticipate they will do so with passion and enthusiasm and that they can be trusted to lead with the highest levels of integrity and commitment to the components of our culture that make Blizzard so special.”
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