Blizzard With New Boss: Johanna Faries, Former Manager of Call of Duty
After former CEO Mike Ybarra bid farewell to Blizzard, Johanna Faries will take over the reins at the corporation. Until now, she has been associated with Activision and the Call of Duty brand.
Diablo, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and more. From February 5, Johanna Faries will be leading these gigantic IPs, who was appointed the new head of Blizzard after Mike Ybarra resigned last week amidst huge layoffs.
As Bloomberg journalists note, the appointment of Faries may be quite a surprise for Blizzard's ranks. After all, she has been associated with Activision ever since 2018, where she started as the head of Call of Duty e-sports team. Most recently, she served as the main manager of CoD.
There would be nothing extraordinary about this, if it weren't for the fact that in the past, there were various types of tensions between the management staff of Activision and Blizzard. It was caused by completely different policies in both companies. Some time ago, the former president of Activision, Bobby Kotick, appealed to the creators of World of Warcraft to be more systematic with releasing their productions (like Call of Duty, released annually).
Faries confirmed the differences between Activision and Blizzard in her first official statement. Here's what she said:
It is important to note that Call of Duty's way of waking up in the morning to deliver for players can often differ from the stunning games in Blizzard's realm: each with different gameplay experiences, communities that surround them, and requisite models of success. I've discussed this with the Blizzard leadership team and I'm walking into this role with sensitivity to those dynamics, and deep respect for Blizzard, as we begin to explore taking our universes to even higher heights.
It's worth mentioning that before starting her adventure with Activision, Faries worked for the NFL for 12 years. The new head of Blizzard can therefore boast a rather extraordinary career path.
