Former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra would like to “tip” developers

Former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra would like the ability to “tip” developers once he finishes a game.

While acknowledging that “most won’t like that idea,” Ybarra says that when he finishes a game, he “often” thinks, “I wish I could give these people an extra 10 or 20 dollars because it’s worth more than my initial $70.” .

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

“When I finish a game, there are some that just leave me in awe of what an incredible experience I had. At the end of the game, I’ve often said to myself, ‘I wish I could give 10 or 20 dollars extra to these people because it was worth more than my initial $70, and they didn’t try to nickel and dime me 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 already a lot, but it’s an option at the end of the game that I sometimes wish I had. Some games are so special.

“I know most won’t like this idea. (As an aside) I realize we’re sick of ‘tipping’ in everything else – but I view that as different than a push-to-tip type scenario which many are confronted with and on which they give their opinion.”

His latest comment likely reflects “tipping culture” and the perception that some industries use tipping to reduce the wages of already overworked people, and some players have already expressed the opinion that they would have difficulty trusting editors to share tips equally (if at all). .

Following Ybarra’s departure, Blizzard recently announced its new president: Activision’s former general manager of its Call of Duty franchise, Johanna Faries.

Faries’ new position was announced a week after Microsoft confirmed the layoffs earlier this year. His 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.