Luis Barriga, game director on Diablo 4, is one of a number of high-profile departures from Blizzard. Blizzard lead level designer Jesse McCree and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft have also left the company.
Lead level designer McCree is notable for being the inspiration for the name of Overwatch character Jesse McCree.
Kotaku, shared news of the departures and Blizzard gave GamesRadar the following statement confirming the information.
"We can confirm Luis Barriga, Jesse McCree, and Jonathan LeCraft are no longer with the company.
"We have a deep, talented roster of developers already in place and new leaders have been assigned where appropriate. We are confident in our ability to continue progress, deliver amazing experiences to our players, and move forward to ensure a safe, productive work environment for all."
While Kotaku's source reported that a reason had not been given by Blizzard for the decision, Activision Blizzard is currently facing a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing concerning its alleged "frat boy" culture. The lawsuit also states that "female employees are subjected to constant sexual harassment" and that "effective remedial measures" had not been taken by the company in response to these complaints.
On August 3 Blizzard announced the company president J. Allen Brack would be stepping down.
In a press release accompanying the recent Activision Blizzard earnings report CEO Bobby Kotick promised the company was making changes.
"We will be evaluating managers and leaders across the company with respect to their compliance with our processes for evaluating claims and imposing appropriate consequences."
Diablo 4 was announced in November 2019 and has no official release date. Activision Blizzard has previously confirmed that Diablo 4 won't be releasing in 2021. It's unclear how Barriga's departure will affect the game's development, but the last update on the game came in June, penned by Barriga.
This story has been updated to add Blizzard's official statement.
