Former Blizzard president planned to 'cut down' on microtransactions in Diablo 4 and reboot Overwatch before the Microsoft buyout

GamesRPGFormer Blizzard president planned to ‘cut down’ on microtransactions in Diablo 4 and reboot Overwatch before the Microsoft buyoutWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Tyler C. / Blizzard)

A skeletal Diablo 4 character cosmetic with a raging fire in their chest on a dark background

If Microsoft hadn’t dropped $69 billion to buyActivisionBlizzard last year, we may have seen some dramatic changes to Diablo 4 and Overwatch. In the final chapter ofPlay Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, author Jason Schreier reports that former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra “had planned to cut down on microtransactions in Diablo 4 and reboot Overwatch,” before he left the studio.

The details about how any of this would’ve been done are not mentioned, but his departure kept it from ever coming to fruition. I suspect it would’ve been an uphill battle trying to argue against the cosmetic shop thatreportedlyearned the company over $150 million in lifetime revenue. And I don’t know how well an Overwatch reboot would’ve gone over with players who already invested so much time and money into Overwatch 2.

Ybarra, as detailed in Schreier’s book, was unpopular with Blizzard employees ever since he was appointed president in 2021. He angered many of them during an all-hands meeting in February 2023 about Blizzard’s mandated return to office after years of allowing remote work. His plans to “pivot away from the live service model” would’ve probably gone over well with Blizzard fans, but who knows what it would’ve meant for the developers having to do the work to accomplish that.

Recent updatesThe original version of this story incorrectly implied Mike Ybarra told Jason Schreier about his plans in the subhead, which has now been fixed.

Recent updates

The original version of this story incorrectly implied Mike Ybarra told Jason Schreier about his plans in the subhead, which has now been fixed.

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