New Leadership at Blizzard

[vincink]

Stocks took a dip to 78 after this announcement... :V

Leadership changes always precipitate a stock drop in any organization. If it doesn't quickly recover, though, that will be very telling.

[Zalraki]

Leadership changes always precipitate a stock drop in any organization. If it doesn't quickly recover, though, that will be very telling.

The dip could be caused by JAB selling all his shares

[procne]

The dip could be caused by JAB selling all his shares

Oh, that reminds me - when he was the president he had to notify the investors whenever he would sell his shares. I guess now he doesn't have to.

[Moozart]

WoW... After all this they STILL didn't trust a Woman to do it on her own and give her a male to "share" it with. It seems like it would had been a way better look to give it 100% to Jen.

[cuafpr]

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they are positioning the studio for an IP sell-off / company split to appease stockholders short-term. Having a lead already in place for both sides will make the move more stable.

I was actually wondering this.. with 2 leaders are they prepping for a studio split of the IPs or even a company spin-off of some sort.

[Sorrowseer]

I am curious why its co run now, its a bit oddd but either way I find it just funny, was this really a recent choice or planned to deflect heat, its juicy.

[RoKPaNda]

Good. Positive change is positive.

[Neversage]

"Look, it doesn't take a genius to know that every organization thrives when it has two leaders. Go ahead, name a country that doesn't have two presidents. A boat that sets sail without two captains. Where would Catholicism be without the popes?"

[Sorrowseer]

She surely worked hard, she was a head of another studio. But to jump straight to the head of another studio? In the middle of sexual misconduct scandal?
I wonder if she accepted the offer happily or did she have to be convinced? I wouldn't take the offer in her place because of how it looks

Blizzards scake? Candy crush and call of duty make a looooot more money than wow you know.

[Conbot]

Any executive in a position to co-lead the studio has already sold their soul to impress the former mgmt. You can't reach upper mgmt in a megacorp without being an out-of-touch lunatic.

[tomolak]

But...but...his household saint was Gloria Steinem...surely he could appealed to Saint Gloria for help?

[Zaqwert]

"Look, it doesn't take a genius to know that every organization thrives when it has two leaders. Go ahead, name a country that doesn't have two presidents. A boat that sets sail without two captains. Where would Catholicism be without the popes?"

Excellent reference. It also reminds me a sports idiom. If you have 2 quarterbacks it actually means you have no quarterback.

[Soon-TM]

I am curious why its co run now, its a bit oddd but either way I find it just funny, was this really a recent choice or planned to deflect heat, its juicy.

If it is like other similar situations I've seen, one of them will be the de facto boss and the other will have to play ball or gtfo. Not an ideal arrangement imo, but they (ATVI) are hardly in a position to make ideal arrangements anyway.

[Enter Name Here]

F

by the way...
"[...] most welcoming workplace possible for women, and people of any gender [...]"

the mentioning of women is redundant in this sentence as it should be covered by "any gender", right?

[GUZ]

So basically next expansion is gonna suck a huge dick but the one after that might be the one lol man what a play tho.
Blizz power move...Quick! promote the nearest woman(hey you! youre the new boss buttt not fully obvs lul lul) and im glad they did good for her.

[vsb]

I was actually wondering this.. with 2 leaders are they prepping for a studio split of the IPs or even a company spin-off of some sort.

That's a wise thing to do. Woman there is for diversity, not for work.

[netherflame]

Pretty much spot-on, although I thought he was probably an okay dude; that "you think you want [Classic WoW], but you don't" notwithstanding.

IMO Classic played out as I predicted it would with most people, it was a huge boon and everyone was in this rat race to the top trying to be the best, once they realized they weren't going to be the first to the top of the mountain they just quit.

It's pretty incredibly that there is no one left that anyone has actually HEARD of at the company left to promote. Given that the leadership is going to TWO people, I'm going to be honest, it paints the image that this Jen Oneal may be included just for PR points of "having a woman in leadership", but if they actually had faith of her being an incredible leader, she'd have been given sole reigns. Not saying she ISN'T capable; just that if the board truly believed the was, it would've looked much better having her the sole President.

I mean people still at the company to promote would be Ion and unfortunately people would have an absolute fit if they did that. At the same time I think hes also smart enough not to take the position in this state as to not crater his career at this point.

Either way, it's crazy to think one of the two "co-presidents" has only been with Blizzard a couple of months, while the other, less than three years. Again, could be a tactic to try and save face, to eliminate concerns of "things won't go back to how they were, because these people weren't even HERE when that shit was happening!". Which isn't necessarily wrong, I suppose.

I don't think these people will be messing with the day-to-day low levels of WoW, it seems like they'll be handling very high level business goals.

[Raven]

WoW... After all this they STILL didn't trust a Woman to do it on her own and give her a male to "share" it with. It seems like it would had been a way better look to give it 100% to Jen.

Yeah just like they didnt trust Brack and had Kaplan as Vice President working with him, and like they didnt trust Morheim and had Metzen as Vice president.

[Daronokk]

Blizzard is dead. If this news doesn't open peoples eyes then what will?

At the head are now people who joined in 2019 and 2021.

What do they know about Blizzard? They don't have a long history at the company and know the core philosophies. They're just corporate suits.

Just let the company rest in peace. It was a great ride but it's now it's finished. The end.

[netherflame]

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they are positioning the studio for an IP sell-off / company split to appease stockholders short-term. Having a lead already in place for both sides will make the move more stable.

Please god get them away from Activision, despite all the things that happened culture wise in the blizzard offices the activision model of releasing things like its a sports game franchise is just not it. I'd rather we go longer without new expansions and really let them grow and tell the whole story without having to squeeze things into less than two years.....