CliffyB No Longer Epic

[Yoshi]

Cliff Bleszinski, design director known for his creative work on the Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, has departed Epic Games. In an EpicGames.com blog post, it seems Bleszinski may be leaving the industry outright.

"I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business," Bleszinski said. "And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break. I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people."

Link

edit: Advocate posted the blog link in the Gears 3 thread.

[Advocate]

Just posted that in the Gears thread.

[Frogacuda]

A touch of the old burnout. I'm not too worried about Epic. They made a brand out of Cliffy, but they were never the type of company that relied to heavily on one person's vision in terms of game design. They have a lot of good people.

If Tim Sweeny left, I'd be a little more worried. He's not as visible, but he's the driving force behind their tech which, let's face it, is where Epic's bread is buttered.

[sleeve]

I'm not surprised by this at all. I am surprised that I don't see more people burning out. Video game development is such an incredibly high-pressure industry, especially for AAA dev houses.

[Joust Williams]

I am surprised. He's one of the most visible people in the history of the industry and he's leaving at what, 34 or so?

Oh, 37 1/2. Older than I thought. But still

[jyoung]

Meh, Gears died after the first game.

Unreal Tournament died after 2004.

[Changeling]

He made shitty maps and seemed to be a shitty person. Die in a fire, Cliffy B.

[Joust Williams]

this map owns

[Yoshi]

What the fuck is going on at Epic? Now their president, Mike Capps, is leaving.

[Diff-chan]

Right before a console transition strikes me as a good time to leave. Capps can write his own ticket.