Mike Morhaime Steps Down as President of Blizzard Entertainment
As reported this evening via press release, Mike Morhaime has stepped down as President of Blizzard Entertainment. He has been replaced by J. Allen Brack of "You Think You Do But You Don't" fame and who has been a Blizzard veteran of over 12 years. Morhaime founded Blizzard back in 1991 alongside Allen Adham.
Good luck, Mike!
Is he the next Blizzard employee to join Second Dinner? PogChamp Kappa
Quote from Blizzard Press ReleaseActivision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced the appointment of Blizzard veteran and World of Warcraft® Executive Producer J. Allen Brack as the new president of Blizzard Entertainment succeeding Mike Morhaime, who will remain a strategic advisor to the company. The company also announced the appointments of Chief Development Officer Ray Gresko and Blizzard Founder Allen Adham to Blizzard’s executive leadership team.
“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.”
“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,” said Kotick.
“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,” said J. Allen Brack, president, Blizzard Entertainment. “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.”
“Thanks to Mike Morhaime’s wonderful stewardship and masterful job of building a truly extraordinary team, epic games and a global community of beloved players, Blizzard is one of the very best game companies in the world,” Kotick added.
“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,” said Mike Morhaime.
About J. Allen Brack
J. Allen Brack is a seasoned game industry veteran bringing nearly 24 years’ experience to this new role. As president of Blizzard Entertainment, Brack is dedicated to maintaining the high standard of quality that has propelled Blizzard to become an internationally recognized leader in interactive entertainment. Most recently, Brack served as executive producer and senior vice president for World of Warcraft, the #1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world. Throughout his twelve years at Blizzard, World of Warcraft has captivated millions of players worldwide and received a steady stream of high-quality content updates, including multiple expansions that rank among the fastest-selling PC games of all time. Prior to joining Blizzard, Brack held multiple roles at Origin Systems, Inc., working on the Wing Commander franchise, and then at Sony Online Entertainment LLC working on Star Wars Galaxies.
About Ray Gresko
As chief development officer, Ray Gresko will oversee ongoing product development efforts across Blizzard’s iconic franchises, to ensure that the company delivers a consistent high-quality experience across its games. Gresko, a 26-year industry veteran, most recently held the role of executive producer for Overwatch, leading the development team through the creation of a brand-new Blizzard franchise and helping launch the game to critical acclaim. Gresko joined Blizzard in 2008 as production director on Diablo III. Previously, Gresko worked on multiple highly regarded LucasArts titles, co-founded and managed Nihilistic Software, and was director of production and studio design director for Stormfront Studios.
About Allen Adham
As executive producer, senior vice president, and founder of Blizzard Entertainment, Allen Adham is responsible for supporting some of the company’s initiatives around new product incubation. In this role, he serves on Blizzard’s executive team and helps shepherd the company’s vision for the future while setting goals and strategies that support Blizzard’s dedication to creating the most epic entertainment experiences ever. In February 1991, Allen co-founded Blizzard Entertainment with Mike Morhaime and Frank Pearce, serving as the company’s first president and later chairman. He provided executive leadership on the company’s first games, helping to build the industry-leading Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo entertainment universes. This included overseeing the creation of World of Warcraft and serving as the game’s lead designer from inception through its first five years of development.
Quote from Mike MorhaimeDear Members of the Blizzard Community,
When Blizzard’s founder Allen Adham first invited me to join him in creating Silicon & Synapse (our original name), nothing could have prepared me for the amazing adventure that we would share for the next 27 years. Our original mission and values consisted of four simple words that formed our foundation: “We make great games.” We crafted that statement before we had even released our first game, but we were committed to living up to it.
After many years of working with some of the industry’s most talented people to create games and worlds for you to play in, I’ve decided it’s time for someone else to lead Blizzard Entertainment. I will now serve as an advisor to the company I so love and admire. My duties as president of Blizzard will be assumed by my friend, colleague, trusted advisor, and longtime steward of World of Warcraft, J. Allen Brack.
J. is an inspiring leader who has shown unwavering commitment to Blizzard’s community in his 12 years with the company. His leadership on World of Warcraft leveraged his vision, creativity, and commitment to quality, and together with the rest of the dev team helped deliver an experience that is unprecedented in our industry. I couldn’t be happier for J. and know that Blizzard will continue to make great games with him at the helm.
I am grateful to all of the hardworking and talented people at Blizzard for their dedication and creativity. Their belief in our mission and care for our players has helped Blizzard reach greater heights than I ever could have imagined.
I am also grateful to all of you in the community. We have been through so much together. Not only have you been with me through many of the greatest moments and biggest triumphs of my life, but you have also been there through some of the most difficult. I am fortunate to have been able to meet many of you in person, while the many messages, emails, Tweets, Reddit discussions, and forum posts have provided an unbelievable connection as well. Even Twitch chat. It has always brought me joy, comfort, and inspiration to see the beacons of brilliance, voices of reason, and the passion that exists and evolves every day in all of our communities.
When we started Blizzard we just wanted to make great games. What we realized is that the games we create are really just a framework for communities and human interaction. When we look back, what we often find that’s most lasting and meaningful from our experiences in games are the relationships we create and foster. You have given me the inspiration and drive to pour my heart and life into what I do. I literally couldn’t have done any of it without you. We have created these worlds, but you have given them life, through your passion, fan art, cosplay, videos, and in so many other ways.
I truly believe that this amazing community has the potential to be a shining light to the rest of the industry by setting a positive example of inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance toward others. In the words of one of Blizzard’s core values: remember to always play nice; play fair. I know this community is capable of changing the world.
It has been an honor to serve this community for over 27 years, and I thank you for your many years of support. I look forward to being a member of the community alongside you. See you on Battle.net!
Your fellow Blizzard gamer,
Mike Morhaime
Quote from J. Allen BrackBlizzard community,
Today has been a swirl of emotions. First, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to Mike. His work on some of our industry’s most iconic games is the reason I came to Blizzard. Not only is he an inspiring leader, but he’s also been a wise and patient mentor to me during my time at Blizzard. And he’s been a good friend. Joining the World of Warcraft team and my favorite game company nearly 13 years ago was an unimaginable dream. Now, to be chosen to lead Blizzard into the future is both a huge honor, and a tremendous responsibility.
To do that, I’ll have the help of dedicated and talented Blizzard employees around the world who all share the same mission we have always pursued—to connect and engage the world through the most epic entertainment experiences, ever. Each of us is influenced by Blizzard’s values and a player-first mindset, which serve as the foundation of our company. With these beliefs at the core of everything we do, we’ve been able to deliver great games across different genres and platforms. And there is more to come—we’re working on more games now than at any point in Blizzard’s history.
As I transition from leading a development team to the entire company, I’ll also have the support of our team of experienced leaders at Blizzard. I’m pleased to announce two additions to our executive leadership team who will be instrumental as we move forward. Ray Gresko, a 10-year veteran of Blizzard who helped create both Overwatch and Diablo III, is now our chief development officer. Allen Adham, Blizzard’s original founder and lead designer of World of Warcraft, will join the executive team while continuing to oversee development of several new games. The knowledge and experience that Ray and Allen bring, in addition to the talent already on the leadership team, will be indispensable in helping move Blizzard into the future.
One thing that won’t change going forward—our deeply held commitments that are core to who we are as a company: to gameplay first, to quality in everything we do, and to listening to and partnering with our community. BlizzCon, the IRL representation of our connection with the community, is just a month away and it’s a time of the year that Blizzard employees look forward to the most. And as usual, we have a few surprises.
I want to close by thanking Mike for 27 years of amazing work: I am looking forward to your wisdom and guidance in your new role. And thank you for everything you’ve done to help create the company and the games we love.
J. Allen Brack
Why not just go to the forums of which your love? Pay your venom there.
Bye, Felicia.
Next announcement. Mike Morhaime joins Second Dinner!!
THE END IS COMING!!!!!!
Remember when I said, just today, that Blizzard has to really impress everyone this coming BlizzCon to stay alive?
Yet ANOTHER high profile name leaving the ranks is NOT the way to kick off the campaign to impress everyone...
They actually don't have to do anything.
Boomsday now holds the record for the largest amount of pre-orders in Hearthstone history.
Just because you don't like the game doesn't mean its dying.
gg hs
ppl are leaving before it dies completely
INB4 someone plugs Artifact.
You see this in a lot of big corporations(Gaming aside), where the creativity is basically dulled down due to the fact that the company got too big. Doing things that initially worked or didn’t work was a part of the fun, and now that it is Activision/Blizzard with investors and shareholders, a lot of these guys don’t feel like they are doing what they initially intended or over time it just got too “Corporate”. Too bad, but they had a great run and I thank them for all the enjoyment I and many others got from their original products and creativity.
Really hope though, that this isn’t a sign of bad things to come from Blizzard in general. This many people jumping ship really means that things will likely go in a different direction. The new folks will want to make a name for themselves or stamp their style into the product... just hope it is good and enjoyable. They have a tough act to follow for sure!
Thought this was going to be a "BLIZZARD IS DYING POST" but glad to see it's not. You make fair points. Actually agree completely.
Dude has reached the middle of his life and has excess wealth. So it's quite obvious that Activision pushed him out and Hearthstone is dying. No other reason he could possibly be leaving. Rip Hearthstone.
Kidding obviously.
This news strikes me as a little yikes. I'm a huge Overwatch fan, so seeing the teams around them being totally upended and especially upper management being replaced with people like this guy makes me more than a little nervous.
Okay, at this point lets just take notice of this: some of the best people are leaving blizzard like a sinking ship one after another. This really is telling that something is not right there.
Or it's like how it is at any company and people just want to move on to something else. He's been there 27 years, I'm sure he'd like to go elsewhere with his life.
You do realize he was there for 27 years, right? This is... a normal thing people do?
This year is a disaster in Blizzard’s offices. So many people who have been there for a long period of years left in the same year.
I don't think it's a disaster at all, just a change that was supposed to happen sooner or later, people don't live forever and this guy has a lot of wealth, maybe he just wants to chill.
Also I kind of suspect that Brode and the rest knew this was brewing and didn't want to work under new management, I won't be surprised if Morhaim invests in Second Dinner
I hope he cracks the whip...SHHNAAAAP!
I always sorta looked up to Mike being a huge fan of Blizzard games since before I can remember. He helped create an amazing corner of the gaming world that has been an excellent escape from the monotony that is life.
J Allen Brack is the "you think you do, but you dont" guy?