The layoffs at Blizzard do not spare popular individuals. The Community Manager “Ythisens” of World of Warcraft has to go.
Yesterday, Activision Blizzard held its quarterly report, revealing that 8% of the workforce will be laid off in almost all areas not directly related to game development. For fans of World of Warcraft, this is particularly difficult to understand, as Blizzard has laid off Community Manager Ythisens.
Who is Ythisens? Anyone who frequently visits the forums of World of Warcraft will know Ythisens. He was one of the Community Managers who was active and regularly interacted with players. He was very popular because he understood many of the players’ criticisms and could sometimes “fire back” sharply when someone overstepped in the forum.
On Twitter, he responded daily to players’ questions and problems and always showed interest in what was happening within the WoW community.
Emotional tweet farewell: Ythisens himself shows on Twitter that he is emotional and clearly sad in his farewell tweet. He writes:
“As of today, I am no longer employed at Blizzard. This was not my decision. I wanted to stay here until retirement. I was just laid off from my dream job.
It is probably not the best thing for me to write a tweet about this right now, but it was an honor to be your Community Manager for Warcraft. I love you all.”
Community is outraged: In the World of Warcraft subreddit, “all hell is breaking loose”. Players are baffled and cannot understand why Ythisens had to leave. He was a true voice for them and a contact to Blizzard that they had always wished for. Most players wish Ythisens much strength and hope that he will find a new position that makes him happy.
At the same time, a lot of hate is directed at Blizzard, with sarcastic or simply hostile comments pouring in. It is often noted that it is absurd to preach about “getting more in touch with players” and simultaneously lay off Ythisens, who did exactly that.
Further layoffs in the community area: But Ythisens was not the only one who had to pack up. Important individuals in the “Community Development” area for other games also had to go. Jessie Lawrence had to pack up at Overwatch. But also the Community Manager of Hearthstone, Jesse J. Hill, was laid off after over 10 years at Blizzard.
It seems to be dark days for the Blizzard community, as many of the contacts and popular individuals are now looking for new jobs.
How to stay informed: Want to miss no more news about World of Warcraft? Then leave a like on our WoW Facebook page.
