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God of War 3 director, Infamous: Second Son lead designer leave Sony [Update]
God of War 3 creative director Stig Asmussen is no longer at Sony Santa Monica, following the recent round of layoffs at the studio and the purported cancellation of his new project. IGN confirmed Asmussen's departure with Sony this week, although it's not known if the 11-year veteran of the studio left of his own accord or not. Asmussen joined Sony Santa Monica from Midway in 2003, serving as a lead environment artist on the first God of War and art director on God of War 2. He stepped up to creative director on God of War 3, and it's speculated he then began work on a new, unannounced AAA project with a sci-fi theme. According to ex-lead level designer Jonathan Hawkins, who lost his job in the layoffs, that project is now canceled after several years of development. Asmussen isn't Sony's only high-profile departure of the week, after Infamous: Second Son lead designer Jaime Griesemer revealed he's no longer working for Sucker Punch. He joined the Seattle-based studio back in 2011, having previously worked at Bungie for twelve years where he was involved with all the Halo games, and served as a lead game designer on Destiny between 2008 and 2010. Griesemer didn't give any reasons for the move, simply tweeting he's "Not really talking about it yet, tho." Update: Griesemer provided Joystiq with a statement regarding his leaving Sucker Punch, assuring fans the timing is not a "cause for concern" about Infamous: Second Son. The full statement follows: "I appreciate all the well-wishes on the news that I am leaving Sucker Punch, but please don't take the timing as cause for concern about Second Son – it's a great game that I am proud to have on my resume and I can't wait for everyone to play it – or Sucker Punch – a studio on the rise with a bright future – or Sony – a great organization with some of the savviest, most pro-gamer executives in the business. And while I am honored to be mentioned in the same articles as legendary designers like Amy Hennig and Stig Asmussen, please don't look too hard for some sinister pattern. The truth is that any creative, vibrant industry is necessarily volatile; the only sure bet is that the next few years will not look the same as the last. Change is part of the job, but along with the upheaval and uncertainty, there's opportunity and new challenges. It's an exciting time to be a free agent and I'm going to go see what's out there. Simple as that..." [Image: Sony]
Longtime Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi leaves Konami
Koji Igarashi, longtime producer of the Castlevania series, announced his departure from Konami over the weekend. Igarashi's last day at the publisher was March 15, and marked the end of a career at Konami that spanned over 20 years. "I've decided to break out on my own to have the freedom to make the kind of games I really want to make - the same kind I think fans of my past games want as well," Igarashi said in a statement to Polygon. The man affectionately called "IGA" by fans began his time with the dark action-adventure series as assistant director of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PlayStation. His involvement in the series has since dwindled, as developer Mercury Steam took it over with 2010's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. "Leaving Konami was a big decision, and not one I took lightly - I've spent my entire career there, made many friends, and had a lot of great opportunities - but I hope all the gamers and fans who have supported me in the past will join me in being excited about what comes next. Wish me luck," he added. Igarashi will present "There and Back Again: Koji Igarashi's Metroidvania Tale" at the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco, tracing the "experiences and methodology" of the series over the last 15 years. [Image: Konami]
Dean Hall is leaving behind DayZ and Bohemia Interactive
Games are a bit like children. You work with other people to craft them, to help them go from little more than a twinkle in your eye to something capable of surviving without you. Dean Hall created DayZ, but he's jumping ahead to the part where he metaphorically kicks it out of the house and tells it to get a job. Or he's kicking himself out of the house... the metaphor is a bit tortured, but the important point is that he's leaving DayZ behind. Why leave a game that's still early in testing and doing well? As Hall puts it, keeping him on the project could eventually lead to his being someone who tells others how things are done rather than adapting along with a changing game and culture. Instead, he's heading to New Zealand with plans of opening a different studio. The changeover is not happening immediately but should take place before the end of the year. [Thanks to Zipzopboobidybop for the tip!]
Former Steam boss quietly exits Microsoft after six months [Update: Microsoft responds]
Jason Holtman has seemingly left Microsoft less than six months after he was hired to head up the company's renewed PC gaming initiative. According to his LinkedIn page (via Neowin), Holtman left his position at Microsoft in January. Neither Microsoft nor Holtman himself have confirmed the departure. Holtman previously served as the Director of Business Development at Steam platform developer Valve, leaving his position during a round of layoffs last year. We've contacted Microsoft for confirmation of Holtman's departure, and await a response. [Update: A Microsoft spokesperson responded to our request for comment, stating the following: "We can confirm that Jason has left Microsoft and we're grateful for his time at the company. We wish him the best in his future endeavors."] [Image: Microsoft]
Second Life CEO Rod Humble leaves Linden Lab
Rod Humble, CEO of Linden Lab for the past three years, officially announced via Facebook that he has left the company. Humble has worked on both The Sims and EverQuest, pretty much exactly the two games that you would think could be mashed together into Second Life. Linden Lab has not issued a statement about Humble's replacement at this time. In a statement on the move, Humble wished his former coworkers and customers the best of fortunes, stating that he was moving on to form a startup company to make "art, entertainment, and unusual things." Whether or not this will be another startup in the online gaming space or something entirely different remains to be seen.
Chillingo founders cut the rope from Electronic Arts
Chillingo founders Chris Byatte and Joe Wee have left Electronic Arts, MCV reported. The co-founding duo had a hand in launching the first Angry Birds and Cut the Rope games. EA purchased Chillingo in October 2010 for $20 million. The LinkedIn profiles for both Byatte and Wee corroborate the news, noting that the founders left their positions at Electronic Arts in December 2013. Neither profile indicates the future of the developers. The news follows the departure of Criterion Games Vice President Alex Ward and Studio Director Fiona Sperry as well as PopCap CEO David Roberts and Co-Founder Jason Kapalka, both of which were reported last week. Kapalka will remain a creative consultant for PopCap. We've reached out to EA to confirm that Byatte and Wee left the company, and will update as we learn more.
Mark Kern addresses his departure from Red 5 Studios
Using a mixture of geek culture references, former Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern posted a brief statement on MMORPG.com to address his departure from the Firefall studio. Kern referenced the event as his "Kobayashi Maru test" and insinuated that fans shouldn't fully believe what they may have heard. "While there have been rumors about whether I was demoted, terminated, or maybe even corporately executed, I will only say this: Remember that Han always shot first," he wrote. Kern said that he had fond memories of his time with the company and wished the studio success in the future. Mark Kern was let go from Red 5 on December 19th and replaced by acting CEO James Macauley. [Thanks to ArchDevi for the tip!]
Storyboard: Why am I still here?
Sometimes, the biggest problem you face isn't whether or not you can find dramatic roleplaying but whether or not your character has a reason to keep subjecting herself to it. I ran into the problem recently in Final Fantasy XIV. As a player, I enjoyed what was going on with one of the many organizations my character belongs to. The problem is that she wasn't enjoying it, and she didn't have any reason to keep subjecting herself to it. She didn't like most of these people, she didn't need money or resources from them, and she wasn't really deriving any benefit from it any longer. Obviously, I wanted her to stick around. But every so often you find yourself in situations where your character isn't happy and wants to leave... and has both reason and opportunity to do so. Two weeks ago I talked about getting someone out of your life; now it's time to talk about keeping a character in the mix.
Vagrant Story character designer Akihiko Yoshida departs Square Enix
Square Enix character designer Akihiko Yoshida is leaving the company, ending an 18-year tenure that saw him produce iconic designs for Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, among other classics. Yoshida announced his departure in The Art of Bravely, a Bravely Default art book released in Japan this week. Yoshida explained that he will continue to work with Square Enix on the upcoming Bravely Second, but will no longer be directly employed by the company. Yoshida's distinct artwork defined games like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy XII and the 2006 Nintendo DS remake of Final Fantasy III. One of his most recent projects, Bravely Default, is due for a North American release in February.
BlackBerry ousts marketing and operations chiefs, replaces CFO
The high-level shakeups aren't over at BlackBerry just because the company has a new CEO. The company has just let go of Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear (pictured at left) and Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben (right), both of whom had assumed their roles roughly one year ago. There's no mention of immediate replacements. The Waterloo firm is also replacing Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka with the company's Compliance head James Yersh; Bidulka will stay on as an advisor for the rest of the fiscal year to ease the transition. CEO John Chen hasn't provided explanations for the individual departures, but he describes the executive shuffle as necessary for focusing on BlackBerry's "core strength" in mobile device management. Let's just hope that Chen is better at engineering a turnaround than his predecessors.
John Carmack departs id Software
John Carmack, co-founder of Doom developer id Software, has left the company in order to pursue new projects outside the field of game development, reports IGN. "John Carmack, who has become interested in focusing on things other than game development at id, has resigned from the studio," id Software studio director Tim Willits told IGN. "John's work on id Tech 5 and the technology for the current development work at id is complete, and his departure will not affect any current projects. We are fortunate to have a brilliant group of programmers at id who worked with John and will carry on id's tradition of making great games with cutting-edge technology. As colleagues of John for many years, we wish him well." Carmack joined up with Oculus VR as Chief Technology Officer in August, but remained with id in the months afterward, serving in a leadership role for unspecified projects. Carmack's resignation follows up on former CEO Todd Hollenshead's recent departure from id, ending a 17-year tenure with the company.
Storyboard: Now I only want you gone
Roleplaying friendships are like any other sort of friendship. The person you started roleplaying with at the launch of the game may not be someone you want to keep roleplaying with through the whole of your time with the game. The question isn't whether or not this will happen; it's when it will happen and what you're going to do when you realize that you don't want to play with this person any longer. What sounds like the simplest thing in the world becomes much harder due to the simple fact that none of us likes telling someone else, "I don't want to interact with you any longer." That means you've got to read the signs and derive a lesson -- and also learn the way that your signals are going to be read, even if you don't mean it that way. So what signs do you get, what signs do you send, and what do you do?
Mortal Kombat Producer Hector Sanchez leaves NetherRealm Studios
After contributing to the well-received Mortal Kombat rebirth and the comic-oriented Injustice: Gods Among Us, NetherRealms Producer Hector Sanchez has announced his departure from the studio as he moves on to "another adventure." "It's been an absolutely AMAZING experience," Hanchez wrote on Twitter. Though details concerning his next move were not offered, Sanchez's final day at the studio was yesterday. Whatever his future plans are, it sounds like he'll be free to pursue them shortly.
God of War: Ascension game director leaves Sony Santa Monica
God of War: Ascension Game Director Todd Papy's last day at the Sony Santa Monica studios was November 1, the developer announced on Twitter. His tweet notes that he was "extremely honored to have been part of that team" and that he's bound for Germany. When asked if it meant he was finished with game development, Papy stated that he hasn't "quit games." Papy previously worked on God of War and God of War 2, as well as projects with publisher Atari Games such as Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA.
WildStar Community Director Troy Hewitt announces departure from Carbine
It's a sad day for the WildStar community. Carbine's Community Director Troy "Aether" Hewitt announced today in a post on the WildStar site that he is stepping down from his position and leaving the studio. He confides in the community the reason for his departure: "Without going into too much detail, recent tragedies in my family require that I return home to be closer to my family [...] It was a decision I can only define as agonizing, but in the end, my family needs me." While this may be disheartening news for many fans, Hewitt is confident that he leaves the community in capable hands. In addition to the North American and European community teams, Hewitt specifically mentions three "forever friends of [his] and industry leaders in their craft" that will be taking care of the community in his absence: Carbine's new VP of Brand, Mona Hamilton; Director of Interactive Marketing, Christophe Bahamed; and new PR Manager, Michael Shelling. In closing, Hewitt tells fans, "While this is goodbye for now, I guarantee you that we'll be playing WildStar together on launch day."
CM James Nichols leaves Trion as part of studio shakeup [Updated]
RIFT CM James "Elrar" Nichols is no longer with Trion Worlds, according to Director of Community Elizabeth Tobey. "As we mentioned last week, we are undergoing some changes here at Trion and that also includes changes among your community team," she wrote. "In addition to all the names you already know on the dev tracker, you'll want to keep an eye out for me, OverloadUT, and Morgana –- we'll be around a lot more from here on out. I'll also be your main point of contact for all things community as Elrar is no longer with the company." The former community manager's departure is part of the recent shake-up of Trion's organization. Tobey said that this is according to the new plan that CEO Scott Hartsman has put into place: "I'm not going to be able to give you the exact details, but I want to let you guys know that this is part of a plan helmed by Scott, and one I believe in. That doesn't mean it's always easy, or fun, but it will result in something better and greater than ever before." "We all love RIFT," Tobey assured players, "everyone on this team, Scott -- everyone. It's not going anywhere or getting worse if we have anything to say about it." She concluded by promising the community more communication and details of the future of the game in the coming weeks. [Update: Elrar has posted his goodbye on the forums. Thanks to Dengar for that tip!]
id Software president departs after 17 years of service
id Software president and former CEO Todd Hollenshead has left the company, Bethesda confirmed with IGN today. "After many years with the studio, Todd Hollenshead decided to leave id Software to pursue other personal interests," Bethesda's Pete Hines said. "While Todd was not part of the development teams, he was an integral part of id Software's success as the business head of the studio and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors." Hollenshead joined id in 1996 as CEO, then served as the company's president following id's acquisition by ZeniMax in 2009. Hollenshead additionally hosted the annual QuakeCon gaming convention. Development of id Software's current project Doom 4 has been reportedly troubled, as anonymous sources alleged that the game suffered at least one complete reboot following RAGE's mixed reception in 2011. These sources also claim that a proposed RAGE sequel was canceled in order to focus development efforts on Doom 4.
Warhammer Online's Keaven Freeman leaves Mythic
Lead Developer Keaven Freeman is no longer heading up Warhammer Online. Freeman wrote a goodbye post on his personal blog stating that he is leaving Mythic Entertainment to "explore new growth and new career possibilities." "It is with heavy heart I report I am leaving Mythic Entertainment. I have worked with Mythic since 2007, and it quickly became my family," he said. Freeman expressed his gratitude to the company and fans, saying that his time with WAR was rewarding: "I'm by no means saying everything was perfect -- there was a lot I could have done better, in hindsight, but I think we really managed to take some giant steps forward as well, as non-perfect as those steps may have been."
Enter at Your Own Rift: Goodbye Scott, hello 2.2
If I was to make a list of the top, oh, five or 10 MMO developers whom I admire, Scott Hartsman would be on there. It's not just that I appreciate that he's one of the few human beings who is shorter than I am, but that he's had a remarkable career full of accomplishments that I respect. EverQuest II and RIFT both owe a great debt to the leadership of Hartsman, which is why it was a sad shock to hear that he was leaving Trion Worlds for unknown pastures. And thus we begin a new year of RIFT, teetering between uncertainty and promise. For as severe as Hartsman's departure will be felt in the development of the game and in its community, we're also looking ahead to the title's third year of operation and a new update that looks to add even more delectable treats on top of this fantasy buffet. So today we're going to say goodbye to Scott and hello to Update 2.2 as we look at the recent state of the game post.
Cliff Bleszinski quits Epic Games, leaves us with an Unreal feeling
Fall must be the season for sea changes in the game industry. Just weeks after BioWare's founders retired, key Epic Games veteran and Design Director Cliff Bleszinski (known to many as just CliffyB) is hanging up his hat. He simply describes it as taking a "much needed break," which makes sense when you see his development experience: he joined Epic's crew with Dare to Dream Volume One in 1993 and has nurtured virtually every major (and often minor) game franchise at the company since, including the Jazz Jackrabbit platformers, untold numbers of games in the Unreal line and most recently the Gears of War series. Bleszinski hasn't said where he's headed next, although it's hard to imagine him switching professions like the two BioWare doctors -- for many, he's synonymous with certain eras of first- and third-person shooters. Wherever he goes, we wish him the best of success.
