Story fans of Overwatch must now be strong. Also, a second important employee has now left the team.
At Overwatch, another important employee has said goodbye. This time, Alyssa Wong has left; she is no longer working at Blizzard. She is the second employee from the game’s story development to leave the company in a short period of time. But what does this mean for Overwatch and Overwatch 2?
Who is she? Alyssa Wong was a writer for the Overwatch team. She was responsible for the story development of the franchise. She was quite popular among many players, especially for the short story featuring Baptiste, which many enjoyed. Overwatch has, like hardly any other game, placed great emphasis on inclusion and diversity, such as with lesbian Tracer, gay Soldier: 76, and many other colorful characters that provide points of identification for many players.
In fact, she was in discussions to take on the role of lead writer after Michael Chu announced his departure from Blizzard a few weeks ago.
What has happened now? Alyssa Wong announced last Friday that it was her last working day at Blizzard. She states that she enjoyed her time and it was an honor for her to be able to work on Overwatch. She is also very much looking forward to Overwatch 2.
What does this mean for Overwatch? It is difficult to say. Blizzard generally places great value on a sophisticated and interesting story in all its games. Therefore, it can be assumed that Blizzard will fill the relevant positions again or simply promote people “from below” into these positions. However, the fact that two of the most important story writers are leaving the company in such a short time is probably rather grim news that is adding to the many negative headlines about employees.
Do you think Blizzard will find a suitable replacement? Or do you think story writers are not necessary in a game like Overwatch anyway?
