Former Xbox General Manager Mike Ybarra announced two weeks ago that he was leaving Microsoft after 20 years with the company. Some wondered where he would land. We now know the answer: Blizzard Entertainment.
Ybarra revealed his new job with Blizzard on his personal Twitter account:
I’m very happy to announce I’m joining @Blizzard_Ent as Exec. Vice President and GM starting 11/4 (will be at #blizzcon!). We will work with all our energy to serve gamers with incredible content and experiences. I can’t wait to be part of this team. #lucky #humble #gamers #serve pic.twitter.com/kZ8dRuF3pe
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) October 24, 2019
Ybarra is stepping into Blizzard at a rocky point in its history. For the past year, the company has been struggling to recapture its once stellar reputation after a series of missteps rocked community confidence. At last year’s BlizzCon, Diablo Immortal was announced for mobile devices, a move that enraged the community that expected an announcement about Diablo 4 for PC and console. The issue had barely simmered down when Activision-Blizzard revealed a massive number of layoffs early this year. This came along with the news that no major releases were planned for 2019 and that the company was expecting lower-than-expected revenues for the current fiscal year. The latest, and by far largest, controversy is the banning of a Hearthstone grandmaster champion for voicing his support for the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Events for Overwatch have been canceled as a result of the ongoing unrest in the community. The story eclipsed all of the others by bridging the gap between gaming news and mainstream media news. As of this writing, there are plans being made within the fan community to stage protests during next weekend’s BlizzCon. It’s unlikely this is the stage onto which Ybarra was hoping to step.
It will remain to be seen what he brings to the table and what contributions he can make to help Blizzard right the ship. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Ybarra’s activities moving forward.
