Former Xbox VP Mike Ybarra joins Blizzard Entertainment as Executive VP

‘I can’t wait to be part of this team’

Earlier this month, Xbox Corporate Vice President Mike Ybarra announced that he was stepping down from the role, having served the Xbox brand for over 20 years. Now it appears that his new adventure lies with Blizzard Entertainment, whom he will be joining as Executive Vice President and General Manager in November.

Ybarra revealed the big news on his Twitter account. “I’m very happy to announce I’m joining @Blizzard as Exec. Vice President and GM starting 11/4 (will be at #blizzcon!),” said the Xbox veteran. “We will work with all our energy to serve gamers with incredible content and experiences. I can’t wait to be part of this team.”

Blizzard is, of course, currently going through a particularly controversial era of its history, following on from the disappointment and anger leveled at the World of Warcraft publisher for its handling of Hearthstone Grandmaster Blitzchung’s pro-Hong Kong protests, which has led to a wave of protest against Blizzard itself. Next month sees Blizzard host its annual Blizzcon event, with murmurs that the company has some very big surprises in store, but it’s wild to see all of these major happenings collide within the same season and will likely make for a tentative atmosphere.

Mike Ybarra officially becomes Blizzard Entertainment Executive VP on November 4.

I’m very happy to announce I’m joining @Blizzard_Ent as Exec. Vice President and GM starting 11/4 (will be at #blizzcon!). We will work with all our energy to serve gamers with incredible content and experiences. I can’t wait to be part of this team. #lucky #humble #gamers #serve pic.twitter.com/kZ8dRuF3pe

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) October 24, 2019