Microsoft Welcomes New Blizzard President Johanna Faries, Former Call of Duty Executive

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment will now be officially spearheaded by Call of Duty's former general manager, Johanna Faries, Reuters reports. Faries' official start for the company will be on the 5th of February, and they will meet with staff members at the company's Irvine, California, as per the official announcement page.

The new Blizzard president maintained that their experience with Call of Duty "differ" from what Blizzard entertainment offers, promising sensitivity to the dynamics within the Diablo franchise's developers' dynamics and leadership team.

The former Call of Duty executive is reportedly set to take over for Mike Ybarra, who abruptly left the firm last week on the same day that Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees who worked on video games. Faries is the first new president of Blizzard since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard's parent company for an astounding $68.7 billion in October.

Amidst these layoffs, Faries acknowledged experiencing conflicting feelings. She reportedly wrote that it is difficult to reconcile the recent loss of exceptional comrades with the enormous joy she feels as the new Blizzard President and developing the momentum for Blizzard's upcoming chapter.

Faries reportedly added that she is dedicated to ensuring that Blizzard prospers while taking special care of the company and its games, each of which she claims to be exceptional and distinctive in its own right.

Past Blizzard Executives

Faries is stated to not be the first female leader of Blizzard, noting former president Jen Oneal, who was ousted from Blizzard in 2021. Jen Oneal co-led the company for a brief period alongside Ybarra.

Oneal was only co-president for three months before resigning due to compensation disparities and a lack of confidence in Activision Blizzard's management. The litigation that sparked the change in leadership was just resolved.

Reports have also confirmed that Matt Cox will take over as Call of Duty's Senior Vice President and General Manager when Faries assumes her new position.

Since its 2008 merger with Activision, Blizzard has functioned chiefly independently. Because of this, Blizzard employees could understandably be alarmed about the prospect of an Activision employee assuming leadership. Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, allegedly frequently meddled in Blizzard's business, which led to delays for Overwatch 2, among other things.

The New Blizzard President

Since August 2018, Faries has reportedly been employed by Activision, where she served as the commissioner for Call of Duty Esports. She has been general manager of the Call of Duty series since April 2021, which may cause some controversy as she takes the helm of a firm with a completely different history than Activision.

Faries reportedly started her career in the traditional sports sector, spending 12 years as an employee of the National Football League (NFL). During her time with the NFL, she had several positions, including Vice President of Club Business Development.