Mike Morhaime is leaving Blizzard for good in April

Blizzard Entertainment co-founder and former president Mike Morhaime announced in October 2018 that he had stepped down from his long-held position, but would remain as a strategic advisor, expressing love and admiration for the company. How long he would remain wasn't made clear at that time, but an Activision Blizzard SEC filing made earlier this week reveals that Morhaime's position as advisor will come to an end in a few months. 

"As previously disclosed, on October 3, 2018 Michael Morhaime entered into an agreement with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (the 'Company') pursuant to which he would provide strategic advice to the Company in an advisory capacity," the filing says. "Mr. Morhaime’s employment with the Company as a strategic advisor will conclude on April 7, 2019." 

Morhaime was succeeded as president of Blizzard by J. Allen Brack, the longtime executive producer on World of Warcraft, and his full departure may simply reflect the end of the leadership transition period. It comes at a time of apparent turmoil at Activision Blizzard: The company recently lost two top executives, Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann and Blizzard CFO Amrita Ahuja, and yesterday appointed new presidents of Activision, King Digital Entertainment, and Activision Blizzard's Emerging Businesses. I've reached out to Blizzard for comment and will update if I receive a reply.

Thanks, Dot Esports

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.