A new rumor details that Blizzard is losing key employees from World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Starcraft.
The rumor comes from YouTuber The Quartering, who notes many of these high profile employees left due to the Blitzchung controversy and how the company dealt with it.
According to The Quartering, Chris Sigaty, Tim Morton, and Brian Sousa have exited the company.
As The Quartering details Chris Sigaty is “the executive producer and senior vice president at Blizzard Entertainment. He had been there for 24 years.”
Brian Sousa had been with the company for almost 18 years. He confirmed his departure from the company on LinkedIn.
He wrote:
“Hello everyone! After almost 18 years at Blizzard Entertainment and 26 in the game industry, I have decided to take a little time off to try new things. Right now I have many dreams, but no real plans. I’ll keep you up to date on my latest ambitions! It was an honor to work with those of you I’ve worked with and perhaps I’ll gave the honor to work with more of you in the future. Hit me up here if you like, I’m looking forward to whatever fate may bring me! Live long and prosper, and thanks for all the fish!”
Sousa’s departure is notable because he was a lead artist who had a number of years in the company.
Morton’s departure, which at this time is unconfirmed officially, directly affects StarCraft and all StarCraft related projects.
For all intents and purposes, this rumor indicates that moving forward, StarCraft is dead in the water and any future iterations are in jeopardy.
Blizzard could be done with the RTS genre, at least for the foreseeable future.
The Quartering reports:
“That means all incubation games that had been RTS are essentially dead and no plans ever for Warcraft 2 Remaster or Warcraft 4.”
Sigarty is the biggest name on the list since he’s been with Blizzard 20 plus years and he is a senior VP and executive producer.
Also notable is the departure of Ray Cobo, who was the former lead producer of World of Warcraft.
Cobo took a job as an executive producer for InXile Entertainment, a Microsoft studio.
Cobo’s departure leaves a little bit of doubt for WoW going forward since he was a stabilizing force for the game.
Speculation suggests the reason for the rash of departures is the company’s capitulation to the Chinese government and the handling of the Blitzchung incident.
However, The Quartering also reports that former Blizzard president Michael Morhaime is starting his own company and some of these departures could join him.
The Quartering details his source told him:
“I’m still trying to get definitive info on Morhaime’s new studio that’s slowly forming from the people leaving Blizzard. It’s all very hush hush still; however, it’s been said the studio already has a name.”
Also, the company’s direction seems to be changing conceptually and creatively, which plays a big part.
What do you think is behind the rash of Blizzard staff departures? Leave your thoughts below.