A few months ago, right before BlizzCON, it was announced that Mike Morhaime, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, was stepping down as CEO and entering a new strategic advisory role with the company, which saw J. Allen Brack become the new CEO of the company. Here we are, just a couple of months later and things have taken a different turn with this official announcement from Activision Blizzard:
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.
Mike Morhaime adds his name to the list of notable key figures that have left or are leaving Activision Blizzard over the past month. Previously, Activision CFO Spencer Neumann left the company and joined Netflix as its new CFO. Blizzard CFO Amrita Ahuja was also hired by Square, Inc. Last year, Ben Brode, Hamilton Chu, and Yong Woo, three of Hearthstone’s top developers, left the company to create an independent studio, Second Dinner. In addition, 100 employees were said to have been laid off by Activision Blizzard.
This latest departure, for whatever reason it may be, comes at an inopportune time for the company which is undergoing struggles with underperforming titles.
