When Blizzard was bought by Microsoft, there was great hope that everything would change for the better. But the choice of the new head shows that this probably won’t happen.
A few months ago, when the announcement came that Microsoft wanted to buy the whole company, anticipation was high. Not only did developers express positive feedback, but the community also welcomed this announcement. The prevailing thought was:
If Activision Blizzard is bought by Microsoft, then Blizzard will finally be “free” again. The influence of other companies will disappear, and Blizzard can develop “like it used to.” There won’t be strict deadlines, and the often-heard phrase “It’s done when it’s done” will regain its relevance.
After all, Blizzard was known in its early years for extreme polishing. Games were released with relatively few bugs and were largely “feature-complete”.
A reputation that has been lost over the years, and the releases of Diablo III and Overwatch 2 have cemented in the minds of many fans that this time is definitively over.
As soon as it became known shortly after the acquisition that hundreds of employees were laid off and even the previous – very popular in the community – head Mike Ybarra is leaving, this hope started to crumble.
Blizzard has a fairly loyal community – no wonder, as it has been built over several decades. However, in recent years this sense of loyalty has diminished. With the announcement that Microsoft is now taking over Blizzard, it seemed that the curse had been broken for many.
The hope: Blizzard would now be more independent and less dependent on Activision or other companies.
This was the only news that Blizzard fans hoped for – the only thing they expected from a Microsoft acquisition.
However, the fact that Microsoft, as its first official act, lays off employees and hires Johanna Faries ultimately broke this hope’s neck. Johanna Faries had been working at Activision recently as the “General Manager” for Call of Duty.
From the perspective of many long-time Blizzard fans, Call of Duty represents exactly what Blizzard games should not be: annual releases of (almost) the same game, more and more microtransactions, and shop offers.
Now we have a rather absurd outcome: Blizzard is free from Activision because the whole company now belongs to Microsoft. At the same time, Blizzard is now under the patronage of a former Activision executive.
The only thing that the community hoped for has been ruined as though with a wink saying “Gotcha.”
I don’t even want to claim that Johanna Faries is unfit for the job. In fact, I found her initial letter to the employees quite good and hope that it contained more than just empty phrases.
However, if you wanted to show the community that Blizzard is now “free” again, it is a very peculiar move to let a former Activision woman manage the very company that wants to be free from Activision’s influence.
I can only hope that Faries takes the words from her letter very seriously and that her appointment as president of Blizzard Entertainment turns out to be a good thing that benefits both the developers and the player community.
But this choice creates a rather sour aftertaste.
But hey, reporting on Blizzard has been a bit painful for years.
What do you think?
