Mike Morhaime Set To Leave Activision Blizzard In April

Things are certainly...happening over at Activision Blizzard as of late. Heroes of the Storm shut [...]

Things are certainly...happening over at Activision Blizzard as of late. Heroes of the Storm shut down its esports events and dwindled its development team; and there's been a lot of backlash following the announcement of its mobile-only Diablo Immortal. Now, however, one of the company's most inspiring forces is leaving, creating more questions in his departure.

Mike Morhaime
(Photo: Flipboard)

Late last year, Mike Morhaime, who served as founder and president for Blizzard, stepped down from his position, with J. Allen Brack taking over. However, Morhaime indicated he would be staying on board as a special advisor. But it looks like that role will be concluding in April, based on this report from Game Informer.

Activision Blizzard filed an SEC this week that noted that Morhaime would be departing the company this spring, though no specific reason was given.

Said the SEC, "As previously disclosed, on October 3, 2018 Michael Morhaime entered into an agreement with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (the 'Company') pursuant to which he would provide strategic advice to the Company in an advisory capacity. Mr. Morhaime's employment with the Company as a strategic advisor will conclude on April 7, 2019."

The company has seen a number of departures over this month alone, including former CFO Spencer Neumann, who left for Netflix; and Amrita Ahuja, who departed the company to join Square Inc.

And, of course, this comes just a bit after Activision Blizzard confirmed the news that it was breaking off from its partnership with Bungie, who had worked with the publisher for years on the Destiny franchise. As a result of that "divorce," Bungie will keep the rights to the series and produce new content for it, however it sees fit.

No word yet on what Activision Blizzard will do after all these moves are made. It did just assign three new positions within the company; and also noted great success with its Call of Duty franchise. But one has to wonder what kind of year it has planned after everything that's gone down.

We wish Morhaime the best of luck in whatever he decides to do next.

What do you think about all these Blizzard moves? Let me know on Twitter at @TheDCD!

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