Seasoned Blizzard Entertainment developer Luis Barriga, the director of Diablo 4, and Jesse McCree, one of the game’s senior designers, are no longer with the game company. Kotaku Reported Wednesday. World of Warcraft Designer Johnathan LeCraft is also said to have left the company.
Activision Blizzard confirmed the departures in a statement to Polygon.
“We can confirm that Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer in the company,” said a spokesman for Activision Blizzard. “We already have a large, talented roster of developers and new leaders have been assigned where necessary. We are confident that we will continue to progress, provide amazing experiences to our players, and move forward to ensure a safe, productive work environment for everyone. “
The staffing change at Blizzard comes just weeks after a lawsuit against the company alleged a toxic work environment that exposed female employees to gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment.
According to Kotaku’s report, Barriga, McCree, and LeCraft have been removed from the internal employee directory of Blizzard Entertainment and Slack. Barriga and McCree’s images and developer profiles were also removed from Blizzard’s press website this afternoon.
Barriga had been with Blizzard since 2005, working on the developer’s World of Warcraft expansions and Diablo games. His current project, Diablo 4, has no release date.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22777239/JesseMcCree_Team3_IMG_0973_R.jpeg)
McCree – whose name was borrowed for Overwatch‘s Cowboy Hero – Has been a lead-level designer at Blizzard since 2005, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was pictured in recently published photos of the so-called Cosby Suite by the Blizzard developers, a nickname for a hotel room mentioned in a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard; he also appeared in screenshots of a text message thread with fellow Blizzard employees about the suite. According to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, former World of Warcraft Creative director “[Alex] Afrasiabi was so well known for molesting women that his suite was nicknamed the “Crosby Suite”. [sic] after the alleged rapist Bill Crosby [sic]. “
The departures of these three Blizzard developers follow two other, highly regarded departures: former President of Blizzard Entertainment, J. Allen Brack, and Senior People Officer of Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard Jesse Meschuk.
In July, Activision Blizzard was sued by the California Department for Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) for creating a “frat boy culture” that allowed the spread of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Several top executives, including former Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, were described in the lawsuit as being aware of the alleged conduct and enabling it. The DFEH said it conducted a two-year investigation into Activision Blizzard before filing the lawsuit.
Immediately after the lawsuit, Activision Blizzard issued an official statement saying the lawsuit contained “distorted and, in many cases, incorrect descriptions of Blizzard’s past.” Activision Blizzard manager (and former homeland security advisor to George W. Bush) Frances Townsend called the lawsuit “genuinely meritorious and irresponsible” in a statement that has since been criticized by current and former employees. Thousands of Activision Blizzard employees have signed a letter urging Townsend to step down as executive sponsor of the women’s network. Following the letter, Activision Blizzard employees in California and elsewhere left their jobs in protest at the leadership’s response.
To update: This story has been updated with a confirmation and statement from Activision Blizzard.
