A tweet from Mike Ybarra on October 23 divulged the next step in his professional life, as he announced that he will be joining gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment as Executive Vice-President and GM.
“I’m very happy to announce I’m joining @Blizzard_Ent as Exec. Vice President and GM starting 11/4 (will be at #blizzcon!)”, read the twitter post. “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”
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
News broke of Ybarra’s departure from Microsoft earlier this month, where he served as Corporate Vice President of Xbox Program Management. His announcement on Twitter was met with many well wishes and speculation as to where he might go next after his twenty years with Microsoft. During his tenure there, Ybarra rose through the ranks as General Manager for Windows 7 and Xbox LIVE, and was involved in the release of games such as Gears of War and Age of Empires. As Corporate VIP for Xbox, Mike Ybarra was responsible for running the Xbox Live service and managing the creation and success of the Xbox Game Pass, as well as lead engagement and business on Mixer.
Only time will tell what Ybarra’s influence will mean for Blizzard and fans of its games, but with his history and reputation, hiring him seems like a good move for the Irvine, California based company. As stated in his tweet, Ybarra will be present at BlizzCon next weekend, so perhaps gamers might hear more from him there, or on his Mixer stream while he enjoys some Modern Warfare.
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