Blizzard president shares how tough it's been trying to keep up to player's expectations in the recent times.
Ybarra shared this insight while pondering the company's future in the wake of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
According to Blizzard President Mike Ybarra, players seem to be running a bit low on patience these days, making it a tad more challenging (but not impossible!) for the team to uphold their high standards of quality.
Given Blizzard's emphasis on eSports and live-service games, it's no surprise that its fan base has come to crave a steady stream of new content. However, this appetite for more has led to heightened expectations from players, especially considering the level of public scrutiny that Blizzard's projects tend to attract, in direct proportion to their success. Even well-received and massively popular titles like Diablo 4 haven't been exempt from the critical eyes of the most devoted members of the community.
In a recent chat with The Verge, Ybarra dropped some wisdom about us gamers. He was like, "Patience isn't our strong suit, huh? We want fresh goodies all the time, non-stop!" He mentioned how Blizzard is hustling to keep up with our cravings while keeping their quality sky-high. But, hey, keeping that content train chugging needs a big squad, so making some dough makes total sense, according to the boss man.
Talking about the money game, the Blizzard bigwig emphasized the importance of keeping our experience top-notch. He was like, "When you drop your cash, it should feel like a win, no matter the amount." While they've been all about that live-service action, they're not against revisiting the good ol' publishing ways. Ybarra's all ears for fresh ideas, even for new game concepts. And for the die-hard fans, he's dropped a nugget of hope - Diablo 5 won't keep us hanging like Diablo 4 did.
When probed about how the whole Microsoft takeover might shake things up for Blizzard, the boss man was refreshingly honest - he's in the dark too. The mega $68.7 billion deal went down in October, but Ybarra hasn't had the sit-down with the head honcho, Phil Spencer, to map out the game plan.
This twist of fate has put the industry vet in a rather unique spot. Ybarra bailed on Microsoft back in 2019, only to find himself back in the fold four years later. Still, he's not letting it dampen his spirits. In fact, he showed up at BlizzCon 2023, hyping it as the kickoff to a thrilling "new era" for Blizzard. Exciting times ahead, folks!