Jen Oneal leaving Blizzard after 2 months as Co-Leader

[aceperson]

Is D2R really well received?

there were the constant server issues, the missing features, and i'm certain there are other things i'm forgetting. but vicarious visions is currently best known for their awesome tony hawk pro-skater remaster which was their last release before being merged into blizzard. there's no proof of course, but i think blizzard somehow corrupted vicarious. a studio doesn't just go from what many consider a masterpiece to something just scraping the barrel for playable.

[Athorha]

She was there for 91 days. Does anyone know what she actually did during her tenure?

Didn't you read her letter to her fans? She is a champion for equality. Her presence and her lasting inflicted effects on others are to be commended and her purpose and actual influence on development need not be questioned for they are lesser issues that speak to a level of personal integrity nowhere near that of an individual who devotes their life towards achieving equality for those who never had the opportunity to do so themselves

[starstationprofm]

wow saved,we got em

Saved from what? Their revenue is up.

[Theangryone]

She was there for 91 days. Does anyone know what she actually did during her tenure?

She didn’t sell runs for gold

[qwerty123456]

She did such an amazing job in 3 months Blizzard decided to give her non-profit a million dollars.

[ParanoiD84]

The technical director at blizzard Amy Dunham also left.

Her tweet


"Before you make commitments to recruit more woman (usually at entry level, where people have less choice to turn down opportunities), figure out and fix why all of your senior women choose to leave,"

She sounds pissed.

[Kathranis]

Yeah this 100%. Hire people because they are qualified, and have people skills, and nothing else.

She was the studio head at Vicarious Visions, they're the ones that made Diablo II: Resurrected. She's shipped plenty of quality games during her career.

[muto]

She was the studio head at Vicarious Visions, they're the ones that made Diablo II: Resurrected. She's shipped plenty of quality games during her career.

Oh a recycled game with better graphics and some qol features. Nice.

[Al Gorefiend]

To quote the guards of Suramar

"Something's not quite right..."

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Edit: From Reddit

Technical Director at Blizzard, Amy Dunham, also announced she was leaving.

Her tweets:

Look at who a company puts in a decision making capacity over it's core business. For a brief period in 2020, there were three women in leadership of game dev teams at Blizzard (>= Director roles). They were Julia, Jen, and me.

And all three of us were the first women to ever serve in our specific roles, and we were also the most senior woman in the company for our respective disciplines. All left this year.

Before you make commitments to recruit more woman (usually at entry level, where people have less choice to turn down opportunities), figure out and fix why all of your senior women choose to leave.

We better start doubling down on bowls of fruit, and now.

[Yriel]

Well, she's not going that far away though, she's just done her own soul searching and decided that she might be able to do more working with 'Women in Games International' and ABK. So, she's not left Blizzard completely, just transitioned to ABK.

Though it did seem silly to put two on the same role, and it was bound to happen that one was going to detach from it and do something else.

So you earn more with "Women in Games International" than a Blizzard Co-CEO. Who would have thought?

[sweetbabygang]

I wanted to tell the Blizzard community this personally because I want you to know I believe so strongly in Mike and the rest of Blizzard’s leadership both in terms of Blizzard’s culture and Blizzard’s games. Blizzard’s best days are ahead. I truly believe that.

Nothing says "I truly believe Blizzard's best days are ahead" like leaving the company when you're in a leadership position.

[Edge-]

So you earn more with "Women in Games International" than a Blizzard Co-CEO. Who would have thought?

Probably not. But it probably pays well enough and doesn't come with all the bullshit she deals with at Blizzard. Also, that it's more fulfilling for her.

[Al Gorefiend]

Well, she's not going that far away though, she's just done her own soul searching and decided that she might be able to do more working with 'Women in Games International' and ABK. So, she's not left Blizzard completely, just transitioned to ABK.

Though it did seem silly to put two on the same role, and it was bound to happen that one was going to detach from it and do something else.

Do you think for reasons other than the fact she is a woman, why she chooses now to work for a female empowerment organization within her industry?

something sinisterly misogynistic might be happening here, or was discovered to have happened, to the disgust of women in senior positions that they are choosing to leave.

[Eapoe]

Why make a cryptic statement, such as Dunham’s, instead of addressing the problem? Blizzard states they want more people to come forward and address concerns/problems/harassment, and they are determined to make a better company. We also need people to step forward and bring these problems into the light. Yet now, we have a woman in a senior position posting tweets in a cryptic manner about why women in senior positions are leaving. I can only hope that, if there are problems the women in senior positions are facing, that maybe she has taken them to the review boards and people handling the suit against Blizzard.
As far as Jen is concerned, their appears to be quite a bit of corporate speech and CYA involved; but, it does read like she feels she can help the gaming industry, as a whole, better outside of Blizzard instead of just working on AB’s problems alone.

[Gaidax]

Why make a cryptic statement, such as Dunham’s, instead of addressing the problem? Blizzard states they want more people to come forward and address concerns/problems/harassment, and they are determined to make a better company. We also need people to step forward and bring these problems into the light. Yet now, we have a woman in a senior position posting tweets in a cryptic manner about why women in senior positions are leaving. I can only hope that, if there are problems the women in senior positions are facing, that maybe she has taken them to the review boards and people handling the suit against Blizzard.
As far as Jen is concerned, their appears to be quite a bit of corporate speech and CYA involved; but, it does read like she feels she can help the gaming industry, as a whole, better outside of Blizzard instead of just working on AB’s problems alone.

Because you don't shit into the well you drank from, certainly not publicly. It's not like she's retiring, she needs new place and troublemakers are a tough sell.

And her next position will be senior enough to warrant extra HR scrutiny. Also, remember that HR is not your friend - they are looking out for potential landmines.

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I imagine same goes for Jen, although in her case they tossed some spare change her way to "make a difference". But I'd imagine she did not bail 2 months after appointment because she's thrilled about the place.

[kranur]

This feels like they knew she was going to leave and just put her in a co-lead position to look good for the couple of months or so she would be around.

You actually thought that their actions are anything more than PR stunts?

[Eapoe]

Because you don't shit into the well you drank from, certainly not publicly. It's not like she's retiring, she needs new place and troublemakers are a tough sell.

And her next position will be senior enough to warrant extra HR scrutiny. Also, remember that HR is not your friend - they are looking out for potential landmines.

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I imagine same goes for Jen, although in her case they tossed some spare change her way to "make a difference". But I'd imagine she did not bail 2 months after appointment because she's thrilled about the place.

Except, as stated, people need to come forward and make these complaints and issues known, or nothing will get done. To make a cryptic statement like this does nothing except equate to “I’m going to buff on my way out the door and you need to do something about the problem I’m not reporting to you.”
If she’s leaving the position, she probably already has another job. Also, if a new job won’t take you because you were a whistle blower about the problems at your previous job, then that speaks volumes to the company you are about to work for and should put up red flags about that company as well.
So basically, her being cryptic, and some people justifying her being cryptic, is stating it’s okay to not report these problems because it might affect my job. It’s this attitude and mentality that makes victims scared to come forward and take so long to report it. Especially when someone in a senior position, who should aide and protect their employees, is acting like they are also scared to report the problems.

[Rennadrel]

One less corporate activist hack offering nothing to grow the development of the companies products gone. Now if the rest of the activist losers in the industry can kindly take a hike, we can get back to having good games being made instead of trash that pushes these crybullies political agendas and doesn't offend their meek sensibilities.

[Thetruth1400]

Well, she's not going that far away though, she's just done her own soul searching and decided that she might be able to do more working with 'Women in Games International' and ABK. So, she's not left Blizzard completely, just transitioned to ABK.

Though it did seem silly to put two on the same role, and it was bound to happen that one was going to detach from it and do something else.

They're not going to move her to any substantial role, she literally said she's leaving at the end of the year. Likewise, like you said, they're not really going to put two people on the same high position and expect them to just stick around working on it together.

This screams they knew about it beforehand and did it as a token gesture "to show how we changed" instead of just appointing Ybarra sole lead during the peak of the "You never give women high positions." controversy.

[Edge-]

One less corporate activist hack offering nothing to grow the development of the companies products gone.

Man, it's like y'all have literally no clue who she is and think she's been at Blizzard forever as a cog in the machine. Bruvs, she was in charge of Vicarious Visions, a nearly universally well regarded studio that's done fantastic remakes of games and created some amazing content for Destiny 2. She was the "outsider" who was co-leading the studio, and thankfully we don't really have any reports of the kind of harassment/abuse suffered by Blizzard employees within Vicarious Visions.