Blizzard Dev Departures Raise Concerns for WoW and Diablo IV

Blizzard employees are concerned that the company's mandatory return-to-office policy in July will lead to more departures and hurt games like World of Warcraft. Some employees have already left due to the policy, and a hiring freeze has made it difficult to backfill positions. The turnover could potentially impact post-release content plans for games like Diablo IV. Activision Blizzard has promised remote work exceptions for some employees, but the process for requesting them is opaque. Meanwhile, recent high-level hires responsible for selling employees on the policy have full-time remote status.