Truth behind Diablo TV series on Netflix & WoW: Forever as Blizzard boss Johanna Faries reveals vision for future

ONE of the world’s biggest video games is getting a Netflix show – and another is being reborn after 22 years. Behind these massive changes is Johanna Faries, an industry titan who spend over a decade at the NFL – and went on to run Call of Duty. Blizzard president Johanna Faries revealed major gaming news over the weekend Credit: Activision Blizzard Now she’s President at Blizzard, the legendary game studio behind World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and more. Blizzard, owned by Activision and now ultimately Microsoft‘s Xbox division, is one of the best-loved game makers on the planet, attracting tens of millions of players to its decades-old franchises. Sign up for the Tech newsletter Thank you! Now Blizzard has teamed up with Netflix for a Diablo TV series, it’s turning Starcraft into a shooter game, it’s remaking World of Warcraft under a new “Forever” banner that will continue indefinitely, and so much more. I sat down for a chat with Johanna at the company’s massive BlizzCon convention in Los Angeles to talk about future Netflix tie-ups, Nintendo Switch gaming, the future for its iconic games, and how Microsoft has changed the company (Watch on YouTube / The Sun’s Video Hub). Read more on Blizzard Games I would love to start with the Diablo series on Netflix. It’s your first Netflix tie-up – can you talk about how that came about? “Yeah, it’s been a long time in the making, you know,” Johanna said. “But I think one of the things that is really critical, and I said it in my opening keynote, is the creative partnership has to sing. “And I think everybody around this project that’s in development feels really, really good that we’re making great progress, that everybody’s really having a good, aligned sense of what we want to bring forward. Most read in Tech “And that always makes it feel like, okay, we’re going to put on a high-quality product here. So we’re just excited. “We’re excited to stretch into this new medium. I know that Diablo players and fans are intrigued, excited. I certainly am on a personal level. Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard hosted its major BlizzCon gaming event in Anaheim, California Credit: Activision Blizzard Johanna Faries previously ran Call of Duty – and now runs Blizzard Entertainment Credit: The Sun “And it goes back to reflecting the ambition of just stretching our IP, taking our franchises into new territory.” During the announcement, you said you’re not just Blizzard Games but also Blizzard Entertainment. Can you talk about what that means, and the vision for expanding that? “Yeah, a key part of it are these sort of what we’d call linear media opportunities,” Johanna explained. “It’s certainly wide open space to take our franchises into new lanes of entertainment. And it creates new swells of fandom. “It creates new reasons for community to gather around and have new conversation that pushes culture. “And back to entertainment, I think we always think about it with a capital E. We have this right to stretch our ambitions, not just around our games, but beyond gaming to continue to put Blizzard top of mind across the entire entertainment industry. It’s a wonderful opportunity. “We have to deliver on those bets, but I think it broadens the canvas for us.” The quality of Blizzard cinematics is famously brilliant, even when you think back to the original World of Warcraft cinematic. BlizzCon attracts tens of thousands of gamers to the Anaheim Convention Centre Credit: Activision Blizzard Netflix is set to launch a Diablo TV series “Yeah, it’s tremendous. And yeah, to your point, to see some of that type of high quality in a more long-form experience, I think is going to be exciting.” World of Warcraft is still evolving. The Classic+ World of Warcraft Forever was one of the big announcements. Personally, very excited – can you talk a little bit about that? How did you decide what to keep from the original Classic experience, what to leave out, and what to evolve? “Yeah, it was a tremendous amount of consideration,” Johanna told us. “How do we make sure that even if our existing classic community wants to stay in that particular universe and experience and not feel left behind or that they have to do a restart, let’s make sure that when we introduce this new lane of experience that that is just as compelling. “A lot of conversation at the franchise management level, as I like to say. We need to make sure that we have all of our ducks in a row. “That long-time players are feeling like their needs are met, but it’s also compelling to maybe even appeal to players who haven’t been into Warcraft for a while or have never played it yet. “And this is a new invitation to do that. Based on the insights of Vanilla and based on some of the community zeitgeist around what that type of experience used to bring. “I think Holly really captured that well in the speech about how we’re going to stay at 60. And there’s a real insight around: this is a place where you’re not going to feel like you have to rush or feel left behind. “This is about making sure that we create journeys together, less so on the destination part.” So on the WoW subscription – which I think I’ve been paying for about 20 years – that’s now split across main WoW, Classic WoW, and then it covers WoW Forever. That’s great value for money, but what’s the process of maintaining all of those and keeping the quality up with the same subscription fee? “Yeah, you can imagine, right? There’s so much we have to consider and balance in that. But it is tremendous value, right? We talked about that as well,” Johanna said. “Let’s make sure that our Warcraft community feels like they’re getting a wonderful swath of content experiences for that subscription. “And as we continue to think about the longer-term future for Warcraft, I think this just gives us such a foundation now, hearkening back to Warcraft 3 and making that feel new again, and bringing newness there. “Again, I think it’s that reflection of if you’re in this subscription, you’re in this community, you should feel joy, you should feel like you’re getting a lot for what time and support you’re putting in as a player. “And that we can continue to be top of mind for you as a player on that front.” One of the big announcements was Diablo coming to Nintendo Switch, which is great news for a lot of Switch players. How do you decide which platforms to spread out onto? There is this perception that Blizzard is very associated with PC gaming, even though you have lots of games on consoles – do you think that’s fair? Diablo is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, dating back 30 years Credit: Activision Blizzard Blizzard also runs World of Warcraft, which is about to be remade into a new version titled ‘Forever’ Credit: Activision Blizzard “I think it’s completely fair. I think we’re very open about it. We love that,” Johanna said. “In many ways Blizzard has long been considered a PC-dominant icon in gaming, and that’s great, and we need to continue to win there. “At the same time, we show up in all these platform spaces, and wherever we show up, we want to make sure it’s best in class. Great partnership with Nintendo. “One wonderful thing, I’m very data and insight-driven as well, is we have a really strong Diablo player community within the Switch platform already. “So I think this is just another way for us to continue to deepen that relationship with our Nintendo players. “Again, it’s been a great collaboration across the board.” I think Blizzard, probably more than any other games company – except Nintendo – has these long-running, just totally beloved franchises. WoW is 22 years now, obviously Warcraft is older. Diablo is 30 years, Overwatch I think now is 10 years. Can you speak to what makes them so enduring, and the importance and pressure on yourself to be a steward of these games and franchises? “It’s exactly that. When we were celebrating even earlier this year our 35th anniversary, we wanted to acknowledge how incredible a feat that can be in such a dynamic and hyper-competitive industry that is gaming,” Johanna said. “And for Blizzard to continue to push the boundaries and endure is its own wonderful accomplishment. At the same time, we wanted to evoke the sense of modernisation and looking forward. “And this is still, we feel like we’re 35 years young in many ways, but there’s still a lot of territory that we have yet to explore. “So as we came back to BlizzCon 2026, we actually talked a lot internally, like. it’s amazing, it’s totally inspiring to be able to announce a lot of what we did today. “We actually feel like we’re in the very early innings, right, about where we want to continue to take our franchises and our community alongside us. “It’s a wonderful place to be. But yeah, it sets an incredibly high bar for sustaining and maintaining that kind of dominance and growth and innovation. But we have some of the best in the business helping make sure that that’s the case.” Of course, you mention Blizzcon – we are sitting here at BlizzCon speaking. Can you talk to the importance of BlizzCon and what it means for the fans? “Yes. BlizzCon is singular as an event. It’s so centred on our community, like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Johanna explained. “And to be a part of it is not just an honour, it continues to reinforce how grateful we are to get to do what we get to do alongside such amazing people. World of Warcraft Forever is intended to be an ever-expanding version of the original 2004 game Credit: Activision Blizzard The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach – a keen Warcraft, Overwatch and Diablo player – sat down with Johanna to talk about the future of Blizzard Credit: The Sun “And it’s also this gathering well, I think, amidst…sometimes we can talk about the industry or we can look at trends, but you can get disconnected sometimes from being together in real life, just celebrating the pure joy of our universes as one. “And to me, I think that’s a fundamental necessity. “It’s a real opportunity for us to shine a light, not just on great announcements and great gameplay and great hands-on, but also to just bring the humanity of the communities that we get to shepherd and steward and be a part of together. “I think the world benefits from BlizzCon in a big way.” The last time we spoke was about six years ago. You were working on Call of Duty League, and you worked at the NFL previous to that. What have you taken from those work experiences and brought to Blizzard? “Yeah, my whole career in many ways, I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to steward and shepherd and be a part of some of the biggest franchises in the world,” Johanna told us. “And you learn a ton when you’re operating at that level. And every experience has been different. “The NFL, I think, has such parallels in terms of community and fandom and lifelong bonds and rituals, and these roots run deep in terms of passion. “And that’s really cool to be able to play in as a space. Certainly with Blizzard, it’s so much more global. “It’s been such an amazing ride just from a creativity lens to be able to engage in community at scale but do it in such a high-quality way from an artistry perspective. “When I was running Call of Duty League, that was really about having a startup kind of mindset. “How do you build a business within a business but do so really at the deepest end of the pool in terms of our core most COD fans and the best competitors in the world? “So the expectations are incredibly high because the skill level is bar none. “But to be able to build that from a white sheet of paper, as I often talk about, was a very exciting experience, and it teaches me quite a bit and has taught me and my team agility. How to think on your feet. “We had to launch that right on the heels of COVID as well. And how you pivot these big-scale enterprises, being a little bit more entrepreneurial in spirit. “Then three years running the Call of Duty business as general manager was really about publishing writ large together with just development against a behemoth icon in gaming. “And really understanding the X’s and O’s of what it takes to manage franchises of complete iconic scale and stature. “Do so globally, do it at a pace that’s quite rapid and frequent. But also to be able to learn how to best collaborate, I think, with developers and understand what they need to be able to launch their best work while also understanding the commercial side of that. “And how do you launch well and how do you continue to surprise and delight as a business. “So all of that has really informed the last two and a half years with Blizzard. “And I just get to play in so many different spaces alongside my teammates here. “It’s a multi-franchise portfolio in many ways. And so it’s a very busy, very dynamic, but absolutely just a dream job to be able to pull from my past but also have something so unique and singular that is Blizzard.” We’re a few years into the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Can you talk about what impact that has had? “I think what’s been really wonderful about it is that I have felt deeply empowered to be able to focus on what’s going to be great for Blizzard,” Johanna said. Johanna Faries was previously the SVP and GM for Call of Duty, another gaming mega-franchise Credit: Activision Blizzard Future Tech Feed with Sean Keach sees expert guests answering big questions about what’s next Credit: FTF “When I came on board, it was just a few months after the Microsoft acquisition had been completed and it was wonderful to feel a sense of deep support that Blizzard on its own was in a place of transformation. “And this was an opportunity to craft a new way of leading Blizzard, a new way of thinking about Blizzard’s future, and to be able to have the support of Microsoft, the support of Xbox leadership, more often than not, as I’ve said, it’s more, how can we help? What do you need? “There’s always challenges because it’s an immense portfolio as well across all of Xbox and there’s a ton of considerations. “They have to consider hardware implications as much as they have to consider software implications. “But I think it’s been wonderful to experience a sense that Microsoft sees Blizzard as a gem in the portfolio, an icon in gaming that deserves support and really strategic alignment in order for us to pull off the transformation that I came here to try and effectuate.” To finish, I’d love if you could talk about what you’d like your legacy to be. When people look back at your time in charge of Blizzard, what would you like to be remembered for doing and changing? “It’s a funny question only because I don’t tend to think about legacy much. I just try to be hyper in the moment. “What I can say, though, is I would really hope that our teams would say that they feel creatively empowered to do their best work. “That they’re given the space to ask really deep questions, that they’re pushed a little out of the comfort zone. “I like to do that as well, just to make sure that we’re looking at opportunities at multiple angles and to not fear the tough conversation so that we can come out feeling aligned and confident about any decision we’re going to make. “Knowing we have a lot of considerations we have to balance, right? And knowing we may not always bat a thousand, but let’s make sure that we all had a voice in coming together on a plan. “That would be my hope, is that I think there’s a sense of empowerment to be able to do what they do best, but do so in a strategic way.” Comment now