Activision Blizzard, Inc. — the video game giant behind such franchises as World of Warcraft and Overwatch — on Wednesday appointed J. Allen Brack as the new president of Blizzard Entertainment.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to serve as Blizzard’s next president, and to lead one of the best entertainment companies in the world, thanks to the passion and dedication of our player community and employees,” Brack said in a statement. “Blizzard was founded on the promise of making great games, and I plan to continue this fierce commitment to quality, our community, and our purpose. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s next given the strength of our pipeline.”
Brack, who most recently served as executive producer and senior vp for World of Warcraft, will succeed Mike Morhaime, who will remain as a strategic advisor to the company. Morhaime is a co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment.
Along with Brack’s new appointment, Activision Blizzard also announced that chief development officer Ray Gresko and Blizzard founder Allen Adham will join Blizzard’s executive leadership team.
Blizzard Entertainment is among the world’s leading video game publishers and developers, with both the World of Warcraft and Overwatch franchises grossing well over $1 billion (WoW has grossed over $10 billion in its lifetime since its initial release in 2004). In 2008, Activision merged with Vivendi Games, with Blizzard being included in the new holding company’s name, Activision Blizzard. Since 2015, the company has appeared on the S&P 500, the only video game company listed on the index besides Electronic Arts.
