Johanna Faries on Blizzard’s banger 35th year and why Battle.net is still at the heart of its strategy

I'll be real, walking into Blizzard's campus for the first time, I was as nervous as all hell. While I've interviewed people like Rod Fergusson and some of the Diablo 4 developers before, it's never been on their home turf and in the presence of all the weight of Blizzard's empire.

The campus itself left me awestruck (and yes, I took a photo of the Lilith statue). But what I was really there for, during a month's worth of celebrations for Blizzard's 35th Anniversary, was to sit down with Johanna Faries.

This year marks 2 years at Blizzard with Johanna at the helm, and it's a big year to be steering the ship. We've already seen huge announcements for flagship titles like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and Overwatch (which has ceremoniously dropped the 2) with more to come later today from the franchise closest to my heart, Diablo.

This is, of course, just the beginning, with I'm sure some big news yet to come later this year at the return of Blizzcon.

I chatted to Johanna about how the studio is balancing its legendary past with a "bold" new future under the Microsoft umbrella.

"Meeting players where they are"

This is Windows Central, of course, so I had to lead my questions with the Xbox of it all. With Xbox pushing the Play Anywhere initiative harder than ever, I asked Faries about smoothing the seams between Battle.net and the wider Xbox ecosystem.

With Xbox pushing harder into the PC space, and their own work on the Xbox Full Screen Experience for handhelds, where does Battle.net fit in with these plans?

Faries was clear that Battle.net remains a "shining star" and a "premium" platform, but she emphasized that Blizzard’s strategy is becoming more nimble.

"Battlenet, as you probably already know, is a shining star of our Blizzard portfolio. It's something that we have deep passion for, and it's as much a community platform as it is a game platform in many ways. So I think what we want to make sure we do is continue to position Battle.net to be best in class.

We want it to be delivering PC experiences at the most premium level and making sure that we're meeting players where they are.

So, to the extent that we [Blizzard and Xbox] want to make sure we're dot-connecting, I think collaboration is always incredibly high across the Xbox team. And we're going to continue to share notes. We'll continue to share best practices and learnings. But, you know, I think in many ways, we want to stay focused on making sure that when Blizzard players come to Battlenet, they're getting the type of experience that they expect. That is, you know, exceeding their expectations and continuing to improve in that way."

She added that there is no '"one size fits all" approach anymore. "What might be right for one game or one game launch might be different than what we do from a distribution perspective or platform strategy for other parts of our portfolio. So we want to remain nimble and make sure that if players are expecting a type of experience from Blizzard, that it's world-class and that we're going to meet that moment appropriately."

Following this part of our chat, I prompted Faries more about potentially bringing more Blizzard games to Steam. Overwatch (formally known as Overwatch 2 is currently doing well on the platform, and Diablo 4 is a great Steam Deck game.

"It goes back to the focus on finding ways to meet players in the destinations of their choice, right? And so there's always going to be an active conversation across every one of our game launches.

Where do we want to show up? How do we make sure we show up in the right way? Right? So again, Steam has played a great role, as have so many other distribution partners for us. And so we're going to continue to just kind of be learners with respect to making sure that when we show up, we show up in the best way possible."

2026 is the comeback year for Blizzcon

While many developers have moved toward purely digital showcases, even Xbox itself has not put on a fan fest in quite some time.

Blizzard, in contrast, is leaning back into the physical world of fandom. BlizzCon is returning in 2026, and I told Johanna it felt like they were going all-in this year, particularly with all the hyped-up messaging. For Faries, the event is more than just a trailer showcase.

"Blizzcon is all about the community, and we think about that in a very intentional way. We want to make sure that we continue to bring forward what has been such a singular part of what makes Blizzard special. And Blizzcon is this gathering... it's this place for people to have those in-person experiences, whether it's because they're reuniting with their people or they're finding their new friends and forging new bonds that often are lifelong."

Given that Blizzard has had 2 years off from running Blizzcon, I asked what had been done in that time to make sure 2026 was a success? What would make Blizzcon an event that absolutely had to take place each year?

She noted that the downtime over the last few years was spent being very intentional about how the event returns.

"I think we've been taking a lot of time over the last couple of years to say when we come back, how do we make sure we come back in a way that celebrates the spirit of what Blizzcon has always represented for our community? While also making sure that it sets a tone for the future we're writing for ourselves here? And so I feel there's a sense of excitement about being able to shape this type of experience for so many people. And I do believe that we have a real passion for gathering in person and being able to lock arms as people who all just love Blizzard and want to continue to forge those bonds."

You'll notice that many of the announcements this month from Blizzard tease Blizzcon and more to come, so from a fan perspective, I'm confident this year will be one for the books.

This year also marks Xbox's 25th anniversary, I wondered if there was any coordination between the two going on behind the scenes to plan their celebrations and marketing?

"There's always this constant back-and-forth about how we calendar together. How do we think big about the big celebrations going on across all of the Xbox portfolio, right? And so it's awesome because we have a year chock full of special anniversaries. It's an honor to be a part of things that have stood the test of time in that way.

When we think about 35 years for Blizzard, it certainly encapsulates so much passion, so much creativity, so much boldness over decades, and it's something that we take really seriously. And at the same time, we've talked a lot about this moment being both a celebration of that legacy and a launching pad for a very bold future ahead. And so those are the conversations we have. How do we make sure that when we're celebrating together, it ladders up into something bigger?"

Bridging the generational gap

One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was how Blizzard handles it's intergenerational nature. Blizzard games inherently have a very millenial and older-skewed audience, many of which have been playing its games for 20 years or more.

There's a nostalgia embedded that keeps people coming back, but it also means a shaky balancing act between the expectations of old veteran players, and trying to bring in a new audience.

The Gen X/Alpha gang has very different expectations around monetization, progression, and the like. How, then, does Blizzard balance this?

"We have learned over and over again, how do you keep winning hearts and minds with bold new experiences? ... It's going to be predicated on making sure that we're delivering for the fans who have been with us and the players who've been in our games and created these communities with us for decades now, while also shaping the fans of the future, the players and the communities of the future."

"It requires this interdisciplinary way of working right? Be ahead of trends, set new trends, tell new stories, think out of the box in certain ways. But also... don't reinvent the wheel. So much of what I think our secret sauce has become is that we believe deeply that our IP, in many ways, is singular to all of entertainment. And when we continue to invest in these worlds and continue to deepen the content experiences in these universes, we find, more often than not, that players new and players long-lasting continue to want to come back and enjoy that right?

We're very excited about what's to come. This is just the beginning. In many ways, even the past couple of weeks of announcements are just the start of something we believe is quite bold and sets a tone for the future that we're shaping."

A perfect example of this is the studio's commitment to not just Diablo 4, but continuing the patch Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. New games don't mean the old audience are left behind. They also manage to serve the WoW Classic and retail crowds. Faries pointed out that continuing to update these games "will also bring in players who may have never experienced it before. This might be their first time... and it reshapes the dynamics within that community."

The relationship with Xbox is "highly empowered"

Since the acquistion of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, there's been plenty of talk about Blizzard's identity and how the two companies work together side by side, with Blizzard still retaining its autonomy.

How does that look on a meaningful day-to-day basis? Faries described the day-to-day collaboration with Xbox as one defined by "agency" rather than oversight.

"It's highly empowered. I feel a lot of agency and support from our Xbox partners and collaborators, and more often than not, the questions are, 'How can we help? How can we support?' There's also this focus on communication. Let's just share. What are we learning together? What are we seeing? Are there places where we should connect dots? Are there places where we should be independent? But let's make sure that we're great communicators and collaborators, so that we're all kind of rowing in the same direction. But by and large, I feel a phenomenal amount of agency to be able to write our future for Blizzard and to operate as we need to."

Looking beyond the existing catalog, is there room for new IP?

While the current focus is clearly on deep-diving into the worlds of Diablo, Warcraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone this week, I asked Johanna if there was room in the next 35 years for something entirely new. A new IP for Blizzard.

"We're always going to think about, you know, what does it look like to win both with our existing IP and maybe into the future? ...we have this amazing portfolio, and we have really said we want to focus in the near term on making sure we continue to invest in these worlds. There's still so much territory we have to cover together. And yet, where do we want to be? 5, 10, 20, 35 years from now? And what are those bets need to look like so that we continue to, you know, stand tall within the industry."

When I asked if there was pressure for a new IP to "fit" the existing Blizzard art style or theme, she pointed directly to the caliber of the team.

"Great creatives offer up ideas maybe we never even thought of before, right? And so I find our role is to create the space for people to be able to think big and think about where do we want to go next... I'm not worried about how anything might fit together. It's really about making sure we're creating the spaces to feel empowered in doing so."

Beyond the games and lessons from Fallout

The success of the Fallout TV show has everyone asking when their favorite game is going to make it to the silver screen. It's clearly had a halo effect on the games too. I had to ask about Blizzard's ambitions for this. And yes, I’m still holding out for that Diablo Netflix show.

Faries confirmed that "exciting conversations" are happening, but the "Blizzard bar" remains incredibly high.

"We just want to be responsible with the IP, right? We want to make sure that if we bring anything forward, whether it's gameplay or whether it's beyond that, that it represents what we want it to signify. On behalf of Blizzard, it's got to be best in class... we have set the bar in many ways, in terms of creative excellence, and so that's really what we're going to focus in on."

Two years at the helm

As we wrapped up, I asked Johanna about her own journey. She has been with Blizzard for two years now, and I wanted to know what about her experiences has stood out during that time.

"It's gonna sound so corny and it is so honest. I mean it. I just every day I'm — I get to pinch myself and say, this is just a total blessing of a job and an opportunity. I get to work alongside the most special, talented, creative people across every discipline in entertainment that you can imagine. And so it's more about... it's very humbling to be a part of what we're trying to continue to shape."

She was candid about the fact that the industry isn't always easy, noting that there is "no one specific day" that stands above the rest because of the natural volatility of the business.

"There are highs, there's lows. That's gaming for you, right? But I think it's a real sense of pride and fulfillment to be able to do it with the types of people that I get to work with and learn from. There's a way that our teams show up in the world that I think is just very unique and special and inspiring to me, both as a player and as a professional. And so I — I can't think of one example. I'm just always reminding myself of that every day."

Of course, you can't lead Blizzard without being a fan yourself. When I asked if she had a particular affinity for one franchise, she admitted that her "diplomatic" answer is actually the truth: she plays virtually every Blizzard game out there.

"It really depends on my mood. It certainly depends on if we're in a big launch... but I'm deep in Diablo right now. But then you asked me next week I'll be deep in Overwatch. It just kind of depends... you have so many different sandboxes to play in."

I did give her one piece of advice: be careful with that Diablo obsession; you might find yourself walking out of a party with a new tattoo.

35 years of Blizzard... and counting

As Blizzard enters its 35th year and Diablo hits its 30th, the atmosphere on campus was electrifying to experience firsthand. "This moment is both a celebration of that legacy and a launching pad for a very bold future ahead," Johanna told me.

For those of us who have spent decades in Sanctuary or Azeroth, it’s clear that while the technology and the platforms might change, the "secret sauce" that Blizzard has isn't going anywhere. I meant it when I said Blizzard is going hard this year, and I can't wait to see what the next 35 years have in store for us.

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