When Blizzard Entertainment was created in 1991, three men were at the center of this new venture: Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce. All three were fresh faces from UCLA and looking to make their mark on the games industry.
While Blizzard took off into the stratosphere, over time its co-founders departed: first Adham (who subsequently returned), then a couple of years ago Morhaime, and now Pearce. Pearce announced that after 28 years, he is stepping away from the company — but said that he’d continue to be “part of the Blizzard family.”
“Everything I have done at Blizzard has been driven by my passion,” Pearce wrote. “I have worked very hard and very passionately for a very long time. Now it is time for me to reflect and be thoughtful about what comes next.”
It’s been a rough year of layoffs and departures for the World of Warcraft studio. The esports division has seen desertions, Mike Morhaime left his advisory role in April, CFO Spencer Neumann was let go at the start of the year, and a huge round of layoffs rocked Blizzard this past February.
