Blizzard boss responds to lack of diversity in games, marketing
Every few years the lumbering entity that is Blizzard forgets its demographics and diverse player base and goes on an apology tour. The latest one comes courtesy of the male-heavy marketing for World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, a potentially tone-deaf April Fool's joke and pivoting on a diversity issues the company dealt with nearly ten years ago already.
"And we know that actions speak louder than words, so we are challenging ourselves to draw from more diverse voices within and outside of the company and create more diverse heroes and content," wrote Blizzard President Mike Morhaime, responding to a rather well-detailed bit of criticism. "We are also actively looking at our story development and other processes to ensure that our values are fully represented."
He continued, "There have been times when we've been seen or painted as being uninterested in hearing feedback or making changes. I want to be clear that this goes against the philosophies and core values on which Blizzard has been built and continues to operate. We will always listen, and we will always work hard to make games that appeal to as many people as possible."
The folks at WoW Insider delve into this deeper, but the grand takeaway here is the constructive feedback approach.
As WoW Insider vet Elizabeth Harper puts it, "Both the original letter and Morhaime's response were written clearly and without offering any insult to the reader. It's not always something that the community is good at, but when we can express disagreement without leaning on anger or insults, it can foster understanding -- and even change."
