Last week Blizzard’s president, J. Allen Brack, stepped down and the company’s head HR rep, Jesse Meschuk left too, following a massive sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Housing and Equality. Now three more high-ranking employees have left the company, reports Kotaku, including Diablo 4’s game director.
Blizzard bleeds three more employees
Kotaku’s sources confirmed that Diablo 4 director Luis Barriga, lead designer Jesse McCree (after whom the Western-themed Overwatch character is named) and World of Warcraft designer Johnothan LeCraft exited the company on Wednesday. At the time, Kotaku’s sources reported that the three names had disappeared from the company’s Slack page and internal directory, and Blizzard has since officially confirmed their leaving to several news outlets.
A spokesperson told The Verge, “We have a deep, talented roster of developers already in place and new leaders have been assigned where appropriate. We are confident in our ability to continue progress, deliver amazing experiences to our players, and move forward to ensure a safe, productive work environment for all.”
The spokesperson didn’t mention whether or not the three employees were fired, and Blizzard hasn’t shared that information yet either. It did tell The Verge that it was looking into possibly changing the McCree Overwatch character’s name following the designer’s departure. McCree himself is alleged to have been seen in Blizzard’s tastelessly named “Cosby Suit”, a hotel room idolising the former sitcom actor and alleged sexual assaulter Bill Cosby, and has become emblematic of the ‘frat-boy culture’ present in the Blizzard work environment.
Recently, Blizzard was on the receiving end of another suit relating to the DFEH sexual harassment and discrimination one, this time by way of its very own shareholders.
