Former Xbox executive Mike Ybarra has confirmed that he's joining Blizzard as the Executive Vice President of the company. Many were unsure of where Ybarra would end up after he confirmed the news of his departure from Xbox after investing almost 20 years at the company. While the news was surprising, it was always clear that there was a new destination Ybarra would land in.
Of course, given the warm sendoff the former Xbox executive received from Microsoft colleagues, it seemed evident that Ybarra wouldn't be landing in the arms of a competitor. Those same thoughts surrounded the rather dodgy announcement of Sony Worldwide Studios Head Shawn Layden's departure from the company, although it's still unknown what happened in that situation. However, gamers now know for sure where Ybarra is going to end up.
Ybarra took to Twitter to confirm that he'd be joining Blizzard Entertainment as the developer's Executive Vice President and General Manager. The move is one that propels Ybarra upwards and sets him up to help deliver on new content and experiences for players moving forward. It'll be interesting to see how that takes form in the next few years, but the hiring seems like a strong move by Blizzard given how instrumental Ybarra was on the Xbox team.
Of course, the timing is somewhat awkward given the controversy that Ybarra is being brought into. Blizzard is currently under fire from consumers after banning a Hearthstone player for speaking out in support of the protests in Hong Kong. This was met with immediate backlash from a majority of fans, so much so that several politicians wrote a public letter to Blizzard condemning the company's actions. Blizzard followed up by reducing the repercussions but refused to back down on its stance. Blizzard has since been radio silent on the matter.
Controversy aside, Blizzard is hoping to deliver big during its BlizzCon event that kicks off on November 1st. Rumors state that Blizzard has a number of surprises lined up for the event, which should prove to be eventful for Ybarra given that he's only just announced his professional ties to the company. Here's hoping that some of these alleged announcements come to pass, as there was already a lot of ire directed at the company after 2018's BlizzCon event.
Source: Twitter - Mike Ybarra