Posted in: Activision, Blizzard, Games, Video Games | Tagged: activision, activision blizzard, Blizzard Entertainment, lawsuit, sexual misconduct

Multiple Activision Blizzard Senior Devs Let Go Amid Allegations

Published Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:31:11 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

Last updated Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:50:30 -0500

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Three big names at Activision Blizzard have been let go today in the wake of the sexual misconduct allegations and pending state lawsuit. In a story that was first reported by Kotaku and later confirmed by IGN, Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree, and Jonathan LeCraft have all been let go by the company today. An unnamed spokesperson sent the same statement to both outlets confirming the departures.

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.

Auto Draft — Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

For those of you unaware of these three, all of them have been longtime staffers at the company involved with three different games. Barriga was the primary Director for Diablo 4, which is still in development with an unknown release date, that will probably get pushed back further with this latest development. McCree was a Lead Level Designer on Overwatch and Diablo 4 and is the namesake for the cowboy character, which Overwatch League casters have been avoiding saying on the air, and there's even a petition going to get the character's name changed. With some demanding the character be killed off if they refuse, or simply reveal McCree was an alias and not his real name. Finally, LeCraft was a Lead Game Designer on World of Warcraft who has been with the company over 15 years, and he too has an NPC character named after him in the Shrine of Seven Stars.

According to different reports, while people have been put in place to replace all three members, there apparently has been little internal communication about what's been happening between employees and upper management. It appears the issues between those at the top and the staff in general at Activision Blizzard are still slowly being addressed, if indirectly. We'll keep an eye on the situation to see how things continue to progress.

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