On August 3, 2021, with Activison Blizzard management under fire from numerous investigations and damning accusations over its sexist work culture, J. Allen Brack was named by Bobby Kotick as one of the fuses to be blown as part of the group’s redemption operation. If the departure of J. Allen Brack was never presented as a forced resignation (for him it was a question of ” seize new opportunities “), the former producer of World of Warcraft was part of the furniture that was thought to be irremovable, he who had been in place at Blizzard for 15 years, including nearly 3 years as president.
Kitchen nightmare
To found Magic Soup Games, J. Allen Brack, who will be closest to the development team, surrounded himself with two acquaintances. At the post of CEO, Jennifer Oneal, the former director of the Vicarious Visions studio. For the record, she was appointed co-president of Blizzard in the wake of the departure of J. Allen Brack but will pack her bags a few months later. Finally, John Donham, whose CV goes from Sony Online Entertainment to Amazon Games via Blizzard, always, will lead the day-to-day operations of the studio. Each in his specialty, the three veterans put on their finest chef’s jacket to present their studio’s recipe.
” Much like making a delicious soup, creating a great game isn’t as easy as following a step-by-step recipe. You are preparing a solid foundation. You add ingredients. You taste. You sprinkle with spices. We taste again. You add more. Taste again. It takes a lot of time and work to make the best soup. To prepare for a big game? That’s magic! »
Open to working from home, Magic Soup Games has a few positions to fill, but difficult to get much out of them at the moment, except that their first game will be a new AAA license based on an online infrastructure in the spirit of inclusiveness.