Overwatch Lead Writer Michael Chu Leaves Blizzard

Blizzard Entertainment quickly fell from one of the most critically acclaimed companies in the eyes of gamers to a shell of its former self. With the company's reveal of Diablo Immortal during BlizzCon 2018, the banning of Blitzchung and punishing the announcers who had no control of the situation, and the recent massively negative release of Warcraft 3: Reforge. 

High profile employees have been leaving the company such as former Global Director of eSports Kim Phan and Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nazer. Another high profile employee, Michael Chu has left the company.

Chu made his departure public on Twitter and his official website:

When I first walked through the doors of Blizzard Entertainment twenty years ago, my only dream was to help make the games I had spent countless hours of my life playing. From the battles between the races of Azeroth in Warcraft to the corruption of humanity as pawns of the Eternal Conflict in Diablo, I was lucky enough to tell stories in these amazing universes and help bring them to life. And I have had the great fortune to get to know and interact with the passionate global community that played our games.

These meetings, travels, and a desire to embrace the diversity of our world made it clear that there were different stories that needed to be told about places and people not traditionally seen in games. As an Asian American, I wanted to experience narratives that represented people like me and to see them depicted as heroes. Overwatch offered an opportunity to bring a more inclusive vision of earth to life: a future worth fighting for. Together, we worked, struggled, and shed tears to champion a universe that featured people from across the world, to bring to life the wondrous sights of earth’s past, present, and future, and to empower the contributions of creators and voices who would better represent the breadth of human experience. I believed that a game could show the power of diversity and that one kiss could change the world, if only a little.

Overwatch has been a life-changing experience. I have always felt that games and the stories they tell have the unique ability to bring people closer together, and that the empathy you feel from stepping into someone else’s shoes, even virtually, can bridge the gap between miles, cultures, and nations. Overwatch and its consistently generous and inspiring community have only reinforced that belief. I’ve heard stories of people learning a new language after hearing a line of dialogue, people feeling inspired to take a trip to a new place after “visiting” it in-game, and people meeting teammates across languages and borders to take up the cause of making our world a better place. But most of all: again and again, of people empathizing with a story about someone who is not the same as them.

Now, as I head out through the Blizzard doors for a last time, I have new dreams: to continue to tell these stories and build worlds that unite people through games. To help create an inclusive world where more people will want to share stories that reflect their own experiences. I hope it’s something we can build together.

That’s the future that I believe in.

Overwatch fans will know Chu as the lead writer for the franchise. With Chu playing a key role in developing the characters and lore of the game. Since launching in 2016 Overwatch has become one of Blizzard's most successful IPs and killing off competitors like LawBreakers and Battleborn almost instantly.

Overwatch 2 is now in development along with Diablo 4. 

Adam Siddiqui,
Senior Editor, NoobFeed
Twitter | YouTube | Facebook