Den 5. februar overtager Johanna Faries roret i Blizzard Entertainment, efter Mike Ybarra i sidste uge annoncerede sin afgang fra selskabet.
Johanna Faries har tidligere arbejdet 12 år i NFL og har fungeret som Vice President for Club Business Development og Marketing Strategy & Fan Development der. I 2018 kom hun til Activision Blizzard og indtog rollen som commissioner for Call of Duty's esports division. Nu overtager hun altså roret i en af verdens største spilvirksomheder.
I en mail til de ansatte skriver hun blandt andet:
Activision, Blizzard, and King are decidedly different companies with distinct games, cultures and communities. 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.
Mike Ybarra's afgang fra Blizzard kom samme dag, som Microsoft annoncerede en kæmpe fyringsrunde i Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda og Xbox.