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Overwatch 2 lead Chacko Sonny is leaving Activision Blizzard

Executive Producer Chacko Sonny was overseeing both the Overwatch franchise and Overwatch 2 following Jeff Kaplan's exit.

TJ Denzer

September 21, 2021 2:45 PM

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As lawsuits and investigations continue and allegations and accusations build against Activision Blizzard, we’re also continuing to see the exit of high-level employees and developers at the company. It’s not over yet. Most recently known for his role in overseeing the Overwatch franchise and Overwatch 2 in Jeff Kaplan’s place, Executive Producer Chacko Sonny has announced his official exit from Activision Blizzard. Sonny’s exit leaves the leadership of the Overwatch franchise once again in question.

Sonny himself announced his exit in recent company emails and communications, as reported by Bloomberg. According to said communications, Sonny announced he would be departing his role at Activision Blizzard on September 24, and Bloomberg shared that announcement was confirmed by an Acti-Blizz spokesperson. Reportedly, Sonny didn’t express why he was leaving the company, nor did he bring up Activision Blizzard’s ongoing lawsuit troubles which began with legal action from the state of California and recently lead up to the SEC opening their own investigation. Rather, Sonny stated that working at Blizzard “has been an absolute privilege and one of the best experiences of my career.”

Chacko Sonny’s role at Blizzard was a major one. He was leading up the Overwatch franchise and Overwatch 2 after Jeff Kaplan’s exit in April 2021, just prior to major allegations and the lawsuit hitting the spotlight. Blizzard leadership referred to Sonny as a “thoughtful leader” and he was seen as a major part of the Overwatch franchise’s ongoing direction up to this point. His exit isn’t the only one though. Blizzard Chief Legal Officer Claire Hart also announced her resignation, ending over three years of service with the company.

With Overwatch 2’s launch date still not revealed and so much still up in the air for the game, it remains to be seen what this means for it. Stay tuned here at Shacknews as we continue to follow Overwatch 2 and Activision Blizzard for further updates and details.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.