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  1. #1
    The Insane Aeula's Avatar
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    Afrasiabi left Blizzard?

    https://wow.gamepedia.com/Alex_Afrasiabi

    "After 14 years, he left Blizzard in June 2020."

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-afrasiabi-2854201ab/

    He was also scrubbed from Blizzard's linkdin entry and they have plenty of former employees still listed. Seems he might have been fired?

    Last edited by Aeula; 2020-11-24 at 01:15 PM.

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer Darknessvamp's Avatar
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    I saw this earlier when I was double checking a quote he made but since the LinkedIn seems to be privated/deleted I didn't think much of it. Doing a quick google search brings up no major news from him this year and checking the edit history on that pedia article it seems it was updated with that line on the 22nd. So I'm guessing Afrasiabi might have recently hid his account and the MMWQ guy noticed the update before he did so or it might be a mistaken edit.

    Edit: Don't think it's a mistaken edit, it was also posted in their Discord on the 22nd and no one questioned it. I'm guessing the editor is at least friends with him on LinkedIn to be able to see it and he seems to be a long time member/editor on Wowpedia. I think Alex Afrasiabi might have actually left in June and Blizzard isn't acknowledging it/he doesn't want it public.
    Last edited by Darknessvamp; 2020-11-24 at 01:21 AM.
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  3. #3
    I hope not, last of the OGs left.

  4. #4
    ...still in Stratholme
    O wait.

    Seriously, if he left, then he'd be one of the rare ones that did so quietly.

  5. #5
    The Insane Aeula's Avatar
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    According to someone in discord wowpedia got the link wrong. You need an account to view the proper one. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-afrasiabi-2854201ab/
    He was also scrubbed from Blizzard's linkdin entry and they have plenty of former employees still listed. Seems he might have been fired?

  6. #6
    BREAKING: People change jobs sometimes

  7. #7
    The Insane Aeula's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by heef View Post
    BREAKING: People change jobs sometimes
    Him leaving is kind of a big deal mate, he's been with Blizzard a long time (And this is a Blizzard fansite in case you somehow forgot) and it's starting to look like it might not've been on the best terms.

  8. #8
    Maybe he's been involved in some #metoo stuff grabbing colleagues asses or something that forced him to leave and Blizzard sweeping it under the rug tp avoid bad publicity right before upcoming release of Shadowlands?

  9. #9
    Normally I'd be pretty happy about him leaving. He's been part of some of the stuff I just don't like about the direction WoW has been going in the past few years. However.....the problem is that the people that are going to fill the power vacuum in Blizzard are very likely going to be worse.

    Given how many oldschool Blizzard people have been jumping ship, the explanation of "well sometimes people just move on" doesn't seem to hold up. I imagine there's some kind of shift in overall atmosphere and environment in the company that repels the old guard.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Aeula View Post
    Him leaving is kind of a big deal mate, he's been with Blizzard a long time

    Blizzard died a long time ago tho.. I would not be suprised if they are just disgusted to look at the company they once created and loved at this point

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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Aeula View Post
    Him leaving is kind of a big deal mate, he's been with Blizzard a long time (And this is a Blizzard fansite in case you somehow forgot) and it's starting to look like it might not've been on the best terms.
    I wasn't making fun of the news. I was making fun of the speculation.

  12. #12
    If he left on bad terms doesn't mean it is Blizzards fault. Maybe he did something wrong? since it was pretty hush hush from him as well. He didn't want attention for this.

  13. #13
    The Insane Aeula's Avatar
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    I mean it is possible we're looking at a ubisoft-style situation where he's done something pretty bad and was given the boot as a result. Just Blizzard decided to keep it on the down-low.

  14. #14
    I am Murloc! KOUNTERPARTS's Avatar
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    I hope it's not true.


    I mean if it were true, and it was what was best for him and his life, then okay I understand. There is a reason the old guard have all been jumping ship, after all.

  15. #15
    Scarab Lord
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    Quote Originally Posted by KALAMITY View Post
    I hope it's not true.


    I mean if it were true, and it was what was best for him and his life, then okay I understand. There is a reason the old guard have all been jumping ship, after all.
    Why?

    Do you think he's been good for the game? I certainly don't. I've played Blizzard games since 1994, and WoW since NA open beta, and I'm very glad to hear he's gone. He was hired as someone completely and totally unqualified (I do mean totally - no game design experience, no writing experience, no scripting/coding experience, etc.), through pure nepotism, because he was mates with Rob Pardo in an EQ guild. I've never seen evidence that he's done particularly great work, he was just promoted at a rate of knots whilst Pardo was there, and his real promotions stopped dead after Pardo left. I don't think that happened by accident. In interviews he's also come across quite poorly, for my money. and the way he slapped his own name/online name over half the NPCs/items in early WoW is pretty gross.

    Jeffrey Kaplan, who came in in similar circumstances, hasn't had the same career trajectory, and whilst he was an awful troll initially, actually became professional and I don't think there's any reason to believe he'd get the boot, because he learned on the job and became competent. There's no particular sign Afrasiabi did the same.

    Given how quiet this was, Afrasiabi obviously wasn't keen to talk about it, unlike other Blizzard employees. If he'd been fired and felt it was unjustified, it's unlikely, based on his personality, that he'd be quiet about it. It's also possible he quit, or is going to join some other ex-Blizzard company, but it's surprising that hasn't been announced given he left in June.
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  16. #16
    Spam Assassin! MoanaLisa's Avatar
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    I don't want to speculate too hard but most of the top guys have been filtering out over the last few years. This pandemic has changed everything for everyone in every way and it would not be surprising to see more people taking the chance, especially if they are relatively financially secure to take off, and do something they've had in their mind for a while.

    It's not too hard to speculate that the post-pandemic, post-Morhaime relationship between Activision and Blizzard may change. It's also not too hard to speculate that with Morhaime gone the new management team is changing some long-held things. I, for one, wouldn't mind to see him gone. He was the lead on changing the flying thing which has had people now upset for years and years. I've always thought his story beats were loud and obvious and the overall story arc was driven by "EPIC" events instead of anything sensible.

    Or he could be fired.

    Or it could all be a mistake and we're assuming too much. Likely the latter but if he's gone, he's not someone I would miss very much. As a creative director on an IP that's been anything but creative the last few years perhaps someone new will bring something better.

    Morhaime being gone can't be understated. Usually when someone like that leaves a company there's a ton of shuffling around at the top that winds out over a period of time. Add the uncertainty of the future and a bunch of guys all worth millions it's not terribly surprising.

    One last thought: For everyone that thinks that Blizzard creatively has been in a rut the last few years and think even more so for the WoW IP, you ought to be glad that they're shaking things up at the top. You aren't going to get anything risky from the same-old, same-old, management team that's brought along everything since Wrath. Whatever the case Blizzard may benefit from having some new people at the top who are less tied to the last ten years.
    Last edited by MoanaLisa; 2020-11-24 at 06:47 PM.
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  17. #17
    Quite frankly, it doesn't surprise me.

    Afrasiabi is a perfect example of the peter principle, he got promoted until he reached a point where he was no longer able to do his job properly due to a lack of skills.
    He started out as a quest designer for WoW and nearly a decade later ended up being some lead position as far as the story is concerned.

    It takes no genius to figure out that being a former Everquest player and having written some questchains for Vanilla is not enough to be in a leadership role, especially when the Blizzard has bigger narrative ambitions for the game and wants to move away from the more simplistic storytelling of the past.

    Whether he left, was "asked to leave" or got booted is another story, but the dude simply didn't have what was needed for this position.

    As a reminder:
    He, among other things, created the Thunderfury questchain (which is cool)
    He also was the guy that tweeted "There is only one Legion across all realities" (which is just bad) - i still remember how WoWpedia had an extra (alternate Universe) page for every demon that appeared in WoD (such as Mannoroth) and then deleted all of them shortly after he tweeted that.

  18. #18
    Titan Al Gorefiend's Avatar
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    Too many people get caught up in the idea that Warcraft exists within the minds of a few adult men like Metzen and Didier and any outside force is a disruption in story. WoWs storyline gets checked, crafted and approved by an entire team of people. Metzen didn't just walk up to a bunch of dorks behind computers and ramble off his storyline, it was always a collaborative process

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Al Gorefiend View Post
    Too many people get caught up in the idea that Warcraft exists within the minds of a few adult men like Metzen and Didier and any outside force is a disruption in story. WoWs storyline gets checked, crafted and approved by an entire team of people. Metzen didn't just walk up to a bunch of dorks behind computers and ramble off his storyline, it was always a collaborative process
    The original Warcraft was thought up by the older people, the newer people are responsible for the woke Warcraft. It's a collaborative process indeed, but you'd have to be retarded to think the newer Blizzard has the same mindset as before. They have totally different goals and storylines in mind.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by MoanaLisa View Post
    One last thought: For everyone that thinks that Blizzard creatively has been in a rut the last few years and think even more so for the WoW IP, you ought to be glad that they're shaking things up at the top. You aren't going to get anything risky from the same-old, same-old, management team that's brought along everything since Wrath. Whatever the case Blizzard may benefit from having some new people at the top who are less tied to the last ten years.
    While Afrasiabi getting the boot is great news, the replacement doesnt exactly give much hope.

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