Johanna Faries Named President of Blizzard

Johanna Faries named president of Blizzard Entertainment

Call of Duty General Manager Johanna Faries has been appointed to the role of president of Blizzard Entertainment, putting her in charge of such franchises as World of Warcraft, StarCraft, WarCraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and more. Faries will officially step into the role on Feb. 5. The story was first reported by Bloomberg.

Prior to taking on this role, Faries served as the general manager of Activision Blizzard’s popular Call of Duty franchise. Prior to that, she was in charge of Call of Duty League and Overwatch League—a role she jumped into in October 2020. Faries joined Activision Blizzard in August 2018 as the commissioner of Call of Duty League. She has worked at Activision Blizzard for five and a half years, but prior to that, she spent nearly 12 years as an executive at the National Football League (NFL).

Her appointment follows major staff cuts at Activision Blizzard and Xbox, which saw approximately 1,900 employees laid off last week at the Microsoft-owned divisions, and the departure of long-time Blizzard President Mike Ybarra.  

It is unclear who will fill Faries’ previous role as GM of Call of Duty—or if the role will be filled at all. Since the $69B USD acquisition of Activision Blizzard closed last year there has been a major reshuffling of the executive team and some high-profile departures, including longtime CEO Bobby Kotick.