The Coalition's Rod Fergusson leaves Gears of War for Diablo

The Coalition's Rod Fergusson will join Blizzard to take charge of the Diablo franchise from next month.

Fergusson is a development veteran having worked on franchises including Half-Life, BioShock, and Microsoft Train Simulator. But he's best known for his work on the Gears of War franchise. He's been involved in every Gears of War title since the series started in 2006, and in 2014 took charge of The Coalition -- the studio tasked by Microsoft to handle the Gears of War franchise. The Coalition has launched three Gears of War titles (including a remake) and has worked with the likes of Mediatonic on Gears Pop and Splash Damage on Gears Tactics.

In an interview with us, Xbox's Matt Booty said: "Rod is certainly someone who has had a tremendous impact on the franchise overall, going back to the original Gears. We are really grateful for the craft and just his passion, and also just what he has done to build that community. We wish him well as he moves on."

Fergusson will now oversee the Diablo series at Blizzard. The developer is currently working on two titles in the series, the smartphone game Diablo Immortal and the PC sequel Diablo 4.