Blizzard Entertainment Gets New President After Mike Morhaime Steps Down

With this year’s BlizzCon less than one month away and the full schedule up for all to see, [...]

With this year's BlizzCon less than one month away and the full schedule up for all to see, there's a lot of excitement from what Blizzard will bring to the showcase. But an interesting shake-up at the very top of the company has taken place right before the show.

The company has announced that Blizzard veteran and World of Warcraft executive producer J. Allen Brack has taken over as the new president of Blizzard Entertainment, succeeding Mike Morhaime, who has stepped down from his position but will continue to be a strategic advisor for the company. In addition, Chief Development Officer Ray Gresko and Blizzard founder Allen Adham have been promoted to the company's leadership team.

No reason was given for the change, but the team had a lot to say over the change.

"J. has been with Blizzard for over 12 years leading the World of Warcraft team, and it takes vision, creativity and unwavering commitment to excellence to sustain a community of players the way J. has for over a decade," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. "J. is an inspiring leader. He has shown unwavering commitment to our community, to innovation and creative excellence and he cares deeply about ensuring the very best of Blizzard culture will be protected."

Kotick added, "I am also excited to have Allen Adham, Blizzard's founder, who rejoined the company two years ago and Ray Gresko, Blizzard's Chief Development Officer, join Blizzard's executive leadership team. I have known both Allen and Ray for more than 25 years and they are two of the most capable entrepreneurs in the game industry. They will help make certain that inspiration and creativity remains the focus of Blizzard."

Brack noted on his appointment, "I am incredibly honored and humbled to serve as Blizzard's next president, and to lead one of the best entertainment companies in the world, thanks to the passion and dedication of our player community and employees. Blizzard was founded on the promise of making great games, and I plan to continue this fierce commitment to quality, our community, and our purpose. I couldn't be more excited about what's next given the strength of our pipeline."

And Morhaime had no hard feelings on the appointment. "I want to thank all of the talented and hardworking people at Blizzard for their dedication, creativity and passion. It has been a privilege to lead this team. I'm also very grateful to Blizzard's player community for their support."

We're not sure what these changes will bring to the front office, but Blizzard is moving forward with its jam-packed show next month, which could be leading to the reveal of a new Diablo game, amongst other announcements. We'll see what November brings...

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