Diablo 4
According to current reports, the action role-playing game Diablo 4 has lost its game director Jesse McCree in the middle of development. What initially only emerged from reports in various magazines, Activision Blizzard has now confirmed to colleagues from Kotaku. Accordingly, not only Jesse McCree, but also Luis Barriga (Lead Designer of Diablo 4) and Jonathan LeCraft (World of Warcraft) got caught. They also had to take off their hats. A spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer part of the company. A large and talented group of developers is ready and waiting where appropriate." We have hired new directors. We are confident that we can continue to offer our players great experiences and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure a safe and productive work environment for everyone. "The specific reason for these personnel changes does not emerge from this statement. However, it can be assumed that they are related to the big sexism scandal at Blizzard Entertainment. He had already cost the previous company president J. Allen Brack the job and let Activision Blizzard's course of action collapse. There were even large protests by the employees, who also found a lot of support outside of the company.
Whether and in what way the departure of the Game Director will affect the further development of Diablo 4 remains to be seen. The release of the action role-playing game is not planned before the year 2022 anyway.
Source: Kotaku
Activision Blizzard: Diablo 4 director and two others leave company
57 minutes ago
Image source, Getty Images
Three more high-profile leaders have left gaming giant Activision Blizzard, including some from new game Diablo 4.
Diablo director Luis Barriga and designer Jesse McCree have both departed, as has Jonathan LeCraft, a designer on World of Warcraft.
It follows the resignation of president J Allen Brack and other executives in the wake of allegations of widespread sexual harassment at the company.
No reason has been given for the three most recent departures.
News of their leaving was first reported by gaming news site Kotaku, and later confirmed by Activision Blizzard.
Blizzard initially rejected the allegations as 'distorted, and in many cases false'. Following internal and external criticism, some senior management softened that language, issuing statements that the initial response had been 'tone deaf' and promising an investigation.
None of the three most recent departures were named in the California legal case.
In a statement, Activision Blizzard said: 'We can confirm Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree, and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer with the company.'
But it is not clear why the three have suddenly departed.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,Harassment allegations at the company led to an employee walkout in late July
Mr McCree - who shares a name with the popular cowboy character in Blizzard's multiplayer shooter Overwatch - was allegedly aware of the infamous 'Cosby suite' detailed in the sexual harassment lawsuit, according to photos and text exchanges obtained by Kotaku in July.
Alongside Mr LeCraft, he seems to appear in a photograph of several developers posing with a photo of Bill Cosby - the actor who, years after that photo was taken, was convicted of sexual assault before having that conviction overturned.
Mr Barriga does not appear in the controversial photograph.
The loss of two significant leaders from Diablo 4 may pose problems for the game, which is widely seen as an important forthcoming title for Blizzard. The company has seen declining player numbers across its existing titles in recent years.
Blizzard directly addressed such concerns in its statement.
'We have a deep, talented roster of developers already in place and new leaders have been assigned where appropriate,' it said.
'We are confident in our ability to continue [to] progress, deliver amazing experiences to our players, and move forward to ensure a safe, productive work environment for all.'