Blizzard's Gathering Storm: 'World of Warcraft' Studio Grapples With Surging Staff Departures

Blizzard Entertainment's (NASDAQ: ATVI) "World of Warcraft" (WoW) studio is experiencing a mass exodus of key staff, according to a producer who voiced concerns on Twitter.

Adam "Glaxigrav" took to the social media platform to lament the loss of yet another employee, attributing the departures to a lack of leadership support for game directors who create the company's products.

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Glaxigrav added that the studio is creating "crisis maps" to track what can and cannot be delivered due to the overwhelming number of resignations.

"I literally have a schedule I strike out as people hand in notice," the video game producer said.

Being loud about it because I've lost yet *another* person this week.

Blizzard is losing amazing talent because someone in power doesn't listen to the game directors who make his products. DE&I also means diversity of thought, especially when it's backed by data and financials.

— Adam 💙 #ABetterABK (@Glaxigrav) April 18, 2023

Blizzard's forced return-to-office policy has also been blamed for the loss of personnel by senior game designer Allison Steele. The policy, originally set for July, has reportedly sparked internal criticism and been a contributing factor to the company's talent drain.

forced rto has cost us some amazing people and will continue to cost us more in the coming months.

it is a terrible, shortsighted, self-destructive policy that is only weakening our ability to deliver the kind of game we want to make and our players deserve. https://t.co/1M94XLJGY2

— Allison Steele, GameObject (@SteeleGame) April 19, 2023

According to IGN, the "World of Warcraft" Dragonflight team appears to have been hit hardest by the departures, despite the fact that their work has been well-received by both critics and fans.

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