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You want to retain the players who have been with you going on 20 years in some cases.
They have a certain set of expectations.
Johanna Faries: NFL architect, Call of Duty shepherd, singer song writer, Blizzard president.
Johanna Faries took over from Mike Ybarra last year, following the final acquisition of Activision-Blizzard under Microsoft.
“You want to retain the players who have been with you going on 20 years in some cases.
They have a certain set of expectations.
Blizzard enjoys a unique place in the video game industry.
“There’s different demographics that only have so much time in their day.
Creators have a certain expectation too, even before we get to commercialization of the content.
It’s a never-ending chase to strike the right balance.”
World of Warcraft remains one of the most successful games in history.
Johanna Faries' answer here reminded me of a concern I’ve had for World of Warcraft recently.
Is this better than previous standards, even?
Faries said Blizzard wanted to raise the bar for how Blizzard games are perceived at a global level.
It’s no secret that Overwatch 2 has had a difficult development cycle.
Is this better than previous standards, even?
How does the next WoW expansion outdo this one?
How can Overwatch reinvent itself in certain ways?”
There are few companies that can command the nostalgia and fandom like Blizzard can, this side of Nintendo itself.
“Lastly, I’ll say it’s easy to say, and harder to do.
The recent expansion, The War Within, is arguably the best expansion WoW has had in years.
But also, to keep a sense of safety to celebrate the tough strategic conversations, right?”
We’re in this hyper-learning, hyper-agile moment, right in time to throw out some curve balls.
Create player surprise, reinvigorate, and re-refresh.
“This is a nod to everybody showing up ready to continue raising the bar.
“The whole rubric of ‘what got us here’ might not ‘get us there.’
She credits the teams at Blizzard for their ability to stay agile and remaining in “strong concert.”
We’re in this hyper-learning, hyper-agile moment, right in time to throw out some curve balls.
Create player surprise, reinvigorate, and re-refresh but not just for its own sake.”
Coyly, Faries replied"we have nothing to share today,“with a knowing smile.
The company has flirted with transmedia properties before, with the (underrated) Warcraft movie for example.
“Our universes, our iconic IP can vector off into many interesting dynamic directions.
We have to be thoughtful, responsible stewards of those franchises, right?
Not everything will fit, and execution absolutely matters.
Meet their life partner.
Some people will have a reunion gathering and watch that old Warcraft movie.
That’s part of what it means to stay in culture, and continue to shape it.
So absolutely, that’s the lens we’re looking through here.”
