World of Warcraft and Overwatch developer Blizzard Entertainment is a busy company right now. Not only is the studio preparing for BlizzCon, its annual games convention, but it is also handling a massive shake-up at the top. Blizzard's co-founder, CEO, and president Mike Morhaime has now announced that he will be leaving the company after 27 years.
In a post published to the official Blizzard website this week, Morhaime explains that he has "decided it’s time for someone else to lead Blizzard Entertainment." Morhaime doesn't go into details about what made him come to this decision exactly, but the departing executive does say that he is grateful to both the "hardworking and talented people" at Blizzard as well as the fans in the community. Moreover, Morhaime confirms that he will maintain a role as an advisor to the company.
Taking Morhaime's place at the top will be J. Allen Brack who has been at Blizzard for 12 years and has been the executive producer of World of Warcraft. Morhaime describes Brack as his " friend, colleague, [and] trusted advisor" and also praises his "unwavering commitment" to Blizzard's community as well as his leadership and his commitment to quality. Brack, meanwhile, calls it "a huge honor, and a tremendous responsibility" to be given the role as Blizzard CEO.
Brack will be responsible for steering the company as it prepares to release new games. Last year, Morhaime revealed that Blizzard is working on multiple new IPs. The then-Blizzard boss also revealed that the studio is in a good position to "incubate" new projects. Brack also alluded to these projects in his statement, confirming that Blizzard founder and World of Warcraft lead designer Allen Adham would join the executive team while "continuing to oversee development of several new games."
Given that Overwatch was Blizzard's first new IP in 17 years, it's being seen as a big deal that Blizzard now has multiple new IPs in the oven. Brack could potentially find himself in charge of some massive new franchises, once these secretive games are released.
As mentioned, there's also the matter of BlizzCon. This week, Blizzard also unveiled its schedule for the hotly anticipated games convention, leading to wild speculation that a new Diablo game is going to be announced. Nothing is for certain but it means that for the next few months at least, the new Blizzard Entertainment boss will have a lot on his plate.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment