Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra wants to offer “guidance” to developers

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra would like to have the option to “mentor” developers once the game is finished.

Although he admits that “most won't like that idea,” Ybarra says that when he excels at a game, he “often” thinks, “I wish I could give these people another $10 or $20 because it was worth more.” From initial $70.

“I've been thinking about this idea for a while, as a gamer, since I've been diving into single-player games lately,” Ybarra wrote on Twitter/X.

“When I win a game, there are some things that leave me in awe of how great the experience was. At the end of the game, I would often think, ‘I wish I could give these people another $10 or $20 because it was worth more than $70. “Firstly, and they didn't try to win me over every second.”

“Games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Gears of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, etc. I know $70 is a lot of money already, but it's an endgame option I wish I had sometimes. Some The games are that special.

“I know most people won't like this idea. [By the way]”I realize we're tired of 'tipping' on everything else – but I see this as different from the pressure-to-tip scenario that many people experience and provide feedback on.”

His latest comment likely reflects “tipping culture” and the perception that some industries use tips to undercut the wages of people who are already overworked, and Some players They've already seen that they'll have a hard time trusting publishers to share tips equally (if at all).

Following Ybarra's departure, Blizzard recently announced its new boss: Activision's former GM of the Call of Duty franchise, Joanna Farris.

Farris's new position was announced a week after Microsoft confirmed the layoffs at the beginning of the year. Her appointment marks the studio's first new leader since Microsoft finally bought Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in October, after nearly two years of regulatory approvals and legal wrangling.