Blizzard's new boss wants to have fun with games. But first, his company is in a crisis
LOS ANGELES — Mike Ybarra is a man chosen to lead in a historic moment.
His Blizzard Entertainment has been singled out as a symbol of the male-dominated gaming community's worst impulses, specifically those that include boorish, frat-boy-like traits.
Alleged inequities and harassment at the company were the centerpiece of an ongoing 2021 lawsuit filed by the state of California that painted the firm and its Activision Blizzard parent as paragons of a broken, sexist industry.
Even Blizzard's attempt at damage control blew up in its face. Ybarra's August 2021 promotion to help right the ship was met with controversy when the first female co-leader of the company left amid reports of unequal pay.
Making games is time-consuming, costly and difficult. But changing a culture? Perhaps that's a near-impossible task.
"No doubt this has impacted people," Ybarra, who was named president this February, says of Blizzard's recent history. "It has impacted morale."
Ybarra, who calmly answered questions for 45 minutes about Blizzard's reputation and how to change it, says he welcomes the challenge. He's soft-spoken but direct in his words, nodding, smiling and eager to talk about his game obsessions. He begins a conversation by praising "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge" and says the art style of the action genre mashup "Neon White" has him smitten.
For now his non-Blizzard game opinions will have to wait. His company is in a crisis.
"We're committed to changing our culture," says Ybarra, 47, who has the unenviable task of restoring stature to a firm whose atmosphere was forged long before he joined in 2019.
"We've had a tough two-and-a-half years," Ybarra says. "We're listening
