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Diablo IV the director and two other developers were fired
According to a new report, Diablo IV Game Director Luis Barriga, Blizzard Chief Level Designer Jesse McCree and World of warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft have been let go. Kotaku reports that the news was passed to the development teams today.
A source told Kotaku that the names of the developers are no longer visible in Blizzard’s internal directory. A source at Blizzard also told IGN that their names have been removed from the company’s Slack channel. The IGN source also indicates that while the development teams would have been informed of the departures, there has been no internal communication about this within Activision Blizzard.
We contacted Activision Blizzard to confirm the departure of these three.
[Update: Activision Blizzard PR has confirmed the departures to Destructoid, saying that Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree, and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer with the company.
“We have a deep, talented roster of developers already in place and new leaders have been assigned where appropriate,” said an Activision Blizzard spokesperson. “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.”]
Barriga had been with Blizzard for quite some time, working on previous games like Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. McCree was linked to the recent Kotaku report on the “Cosby Sequel”, as part of Activision Blizzard’s ongoing cultivation reports and investigation. This stems from the complaint filed last month by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging discrimination and a toxic work culture at the company.
LeCraft was also pictured in the aforementioned sequel report. Kotaku says two sources have confirmed to them that another Blizzard developer pictured there, Cory Stockton, was put on leave last week but appears to be staying with the company.
Activision Blizzard employees have since signed a letter denouncing the company’s initial management response, as well as staging a walkout and forming a coalition between Activision, Blizzard, King and other studios.
Employees made several requests for change, including an end to forced arbitration, and Ubisoft workers backed them up with their own joint letter. An investment group and Activision Blizzard shareholder also recently criticized the company’s response, exposing its own demands for change within the company.
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