{"id":1482526,"date":"2021-11-02T21:26:24","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T21:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/01fkh76pgq7g"},"modified":"2021-11-02T21:26:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T21:26:24","slug":"blizzard-co-leader-jen-oneal-departs-mike-ybarra-becomes-sole-head","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platogaming.com\/plato-data\/blizzard-co-leader-jen-oneal-departs-mike-ybarra-becomes-sole-head\/","title":{"rendered":"Blizzard Co-Leader Jen Oneal Departs, Mike Ybarra Becomes Sole Head"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Blizzard<\/picture><\/figure>\n

Blizzard co-head Jen Oneal announced plans to leave the company Tuesday. \/ Photo courtesy of Activision Blizzard<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

Jen Oneal will leave her role as co-leader of Blizzard at the end of the year, Activision Blizzard announced in an earnings call Tuesday. Her co-leader, Mike Ybarra, will now become the sole head of the studio.<\/p>\n

Oneal and Ybarra took on the roles of co-leaders in August after Blizzard president J. Allen Brack left the company<\/a> in a move largely seen as tied to a discrimination lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard<\/a> by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Brack was one of only two employees named in the suit.<\/p>\n

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A very short run — Oneal and Ybarra took over Blizzard leadership in August following the departure of J. Allen Brack, who left in the wake of the California lawsuit against the company for sexual discrimination and misconduct<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 2, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Before becoming a co-lead at Blizzard, Oneal was the head of the Activision Blizzard-owned Vicarious Visions studio responsible for last year’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. That studio was absorbed into Blizzard itself earlier this year.<\/p>\n

All told, Oneal had spent more than 20 years at Activision. She leaves to focus on bringing more diversity to the gaming industry, and Activision has announced a $1 million grant to Women in Games International in her honor. Oneal is on the board of that organization, and will work to determine the use of the grant before she leaves Activision Blizzard completely.<\/p>\n