"Haven't heard anything good about Call of Duty" - Asmongold voices concerns about Blizzard's new president Johanna Faries

Zack “Asmongold” recently discussed the newest major promotion in Blizzard, the inclusion of ex-Call of Duty GM Johanna Faries to replace Mike Ybarra. Many shared negative comments about the move, from complaints of a “diversity hire” to being a mouthpiece for Microsoft’s wants regarding the hit MMO.

Asmongold appeared to echo some of these thoughts in one of his recent streams. The content creator and co-founder of OTK (One True King) remarked that he had not heard much good about Call of Duty in the last couple of years and stated what he felt this means for the company going forward:

“I really can’t say I’ve heard anything good about Call of Duty in the last two years.”

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Asmongold discusses Blizzard’s new president, Johanna Faries

(Clip begins at 1:46:55)

During Asmongold’s January 30, 2024, stream on his alternate channel, Zackrawrr, the content creator discussed the person who would replace Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who called Zack out in 2022 for lacking Retail WoW experience. The person to replace Ybarra is Johanna Faries, who previously spent a few years as GM for Call of Duty:

“There is a new president of Blizzard Entertainment, Johanna Faries. So she is the new president of Blizzard. ‘Pledging to honor their unique dynamics.’ So, Mike Ybarra is out, and she is now the president of the company.”

According to the OTK streamer, he hasn’t heard very much good about Call of Duty in the past few years. It is a game that has courted controversy and upset fans, such as when Scump’s CoD League coverage was DMCA’d while he was still on the air. Asmongold said he couldn’t think of a lot of positives when it came to Call of Duty:

“She was apparently the General Manager of Call of Duty since 2021. And I would say, I can’t really say that I’ve heard anything good about Call of Duty in the last two years. I mean, I’ll be real.”

The future of Blizzard Entertainment doesn’t sound very positive right now. Despite having the successful Dragonflight expansion and WoW Classic Season of Discovery, many think things are going to change. Asmongold highlighted that she was probably put into that spot to make sure Microsoft’s whims were done:

“A lot of people are saying RIP the company, this is bad, it’s a diversity hire, something like that. I believe she got put in this position because she’ll do what Microsoft wants her to do. Everything that happens at Blizzard is going to happen through Microsoft. That’s what I think.”

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Fans react to Asmongold’s commentary on new Blizzard president

There's a great deal of doom-saying going on for Blizzard (Image via YouTube)

There wasn’t much positivity in the comments section of the OTK streamer’s YouTube clip. Many would cite poor decisions made by the Call of Duty team or simply state that the goodwill and excellent storytelling Blizzard Entertainment has had up until now is going away.

There was far more negativity than positivity (Image via YouTube)

Others felt that it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. It’s not guaranteed that Microsoft’s direction will lead to the downfall of Blizzard Entertainment and World of Warcraft. However, far more were upset about it than hopeful. There was a significant amount of negativity among fans.

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Only time will tell what the future really holds for Blizzard Entertainment. We have an idea about World of Warcraft, as the company released a roadmap for upcoming content.