Blizzard's beloved China general manager Alex Dai resigns

Earlier today, Blizzard made the following announcement to the Chinese press:

Dear media friends, there is something we would like to share with everyone:

After being the China general manager and VP of distribution for nearly four years, Mr. Jinghe “Alex” Dai has decided to leave Blizzard and pursue new opportunties for growth. We thank Alex wholeheartedly for the outstanding contributions he made during his time here, and we wish him the best in his future pursuits. We’re currently searching for his successor, and we’ll make an announcement in a timely fashion once [a candidate] has been confirmed.

We’re very thankful to everyone for your support of Blizzard and our games, and for your support of Mr. Jinghe “Alex” Dai’s work. In the future we hope to continue closely collaborating with everyone, and providing Blizzard games and services to Chinese gamers.

Thank you, and best wishes!

Chinese gamers can be very harsh towards developers, even developers of the games they love. But the announcement of Dai’s resignation has been followed immediately by a big outpouring of gratitude and support from the Chinese community.

Netease Games, for example, wrote an editorial about his resignation thanking him for his service called “Don’t do it, Alex!”, and it has already attracted more than 1,000 comments. And the most popular comment is a heartfelt message from a fan thanking him “for everything he has done for Blizzard fans in China.”

It’s clear that whatever he’s off to next, Alex Dai will be missed. And Blizzard’s next China GM has an awfully big pair of shoes to fill.

(via Netease Games)

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