Hearthstone game director leaves Blizzard
Ben Brode spent ten years working on the popular card game
Hearthstone game director Ben Brode has decided to leave Blizzard Entertainment after 15 years at the company.
Brode started at Blizzard when he was 20 years old, with the job title of "night crew game tester." Out of the ensuing 15 years, he spent ten working on Hearthstone.
"I get too much credit by virtue of being a public face, but the 80+ people on the development team are still there, and they are the ones actually making the cards, brawls, events, missions, and features," he said, in a blog post announcing his departure.
"I am confident the game is in the best possible hands, and I'm excited to see where a new generation of leaders takes Hearthstone from here."
Brode confirmed that he will be helping to start a new company, which will "probably make games." He offered no information on who else was involved with his new endeavour.
"I am very fortunate to be able to take a crazy risk right now in my life, and I'm excited to be scrappy and a little scared," he continued. "I'm looking forward to designing, programming, and actually creating things again."
In May 2017, Blizzard confirmed that Hearthstone had 70 million registered players.