A dark day for Blizzard. Not only are many people being laid off, but also President Mike Ybarra is leaving the company.
A message that probably no one really expected before today. The president of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Ybarra, had his last day at Blizzard today (January 25, 2024). His departure comes alongside over 1,900 layoffs that were announced today.
What happened? It was announced today that there would be a significant number of layoffs at Activision Blizzard and Xbox. At the same time, the president of Blizzard announced on X (formerly Twitter) that today would be his last day. In his farewell message, he wrote:
I want to thank everyone for their significant contributions to the team, Blizzard, and the lives of the players affected by today’s decisions. It’s an incredibly difficult day, and my energy and support will be focused on all the incredible individuals impacted – this in no way reflects your amazing work. If there is anything I can assist with, whether it be connections, recommendations, and so on, please reach out.
To the Blizzard community: I also wanted to let you all know that today is my last day at Blizzard. Leading Blizzard through an incredible time and being part of the team shaping the future has been an absolute honor. After working at Microsoft for 20+ years and now with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it is (again) time for me to become the biggest Blizzard fan from the outside.
To the incredible teams at Blizzard – thank you. Words cannot express what I feel for you. You are fantastic. Continue to do incredible things and always ensure that Blizzard stays true to its values and that players are at the forefront of your decisions.
To all those affected by today’s news – I am always available for you and understand how challenging this news is. My heart is with each and every one of you.
Mike Ybarra on X / Twitter
Who is Ybarra? Mike Ybarra has been with Blizzard since August 2021 and has been the president of the company since February 2022. Before Ybarra joined Blizzard, he had worked at Microsoft for many years. He was then considered a trailblazer who was preparing for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
In the community, Ybarra enjoys a fairly good reputation, partly because he always presents himself as a gamer who knows what players want. For a while, he ran high-level WoW streams and also regularly plays other games.
The announcement was particularly surprising because many fans and employees hoped that with Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, things would improve significantly, and the “dark times” of layoffs would be over.
That now, just a few months after the acquisition, it would be Mike Ybarra specifically who would be affected, probably no one saw that coming.
Where Mike Ybarra will go next has not yet been revealed.
