J. Allen Brack, the President of Warcraft and Overwatch studio Blizzard Entertainment, is leaving his position less than two weeks after an investigation by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing made public explosive allegations of harassment and discrimination within the company.
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In a statement released by Blizzard, it’s announced that Brack will be “stepping down”, and will be replaced by a leadership team of Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra.
Brack also released a short statment, which reads:
A separate announcement on Activision’s investor relations page says that Brack is leaving to “pursue new opportunities.” He had been President since 2018, and had been at the company since 2006, having previously worked at companies like Origin (Wing Commander) and SOE (Star Wars Galaxies).
Brack was one of only two people explicitly named in California’s lawsuit, which accused the now former head of Blizzard of failing to deal with internal reports of sexual harassment and sexism, including allegations that former World of Warcraft creative director Alex Afrasiabi would try to put his arms around and kiss female coworkers at company events.
Following staff emails by Activision Blizzard executives downplaying the allegations, current and former employees at the company signed an open letter and engaged in a walkout last week calling for several changes to create a safer and more equitable workplace. So far Activision Blizzard management has not directly responded to the employees’ demands.
