Ben Brode Leaves Blizzard Entertainment
Ben Brode has posted a very important announcement this afternoon. After working at Blizzard for 15 years and developing Hearthstone for almost 10, he has decided to leave the company.
Thank you, Ben, for all the communication you've given the community over the years, the laughs, and most importantly, this game.
Quote from Ben BrodeTo my friends, coworkers, and the Hearthstone community,
After 15 years at Blizzard and almost 10 years working on Hearthstone, I have made the incredibly difficult decision to embark on a new journey.
Man, that was a hard sentence to type.
I was 20 years old when I started here. My first role was ‘Night Crew Game Tester.’
Since then, Blizzard has been good to me. I got to cast esports events, announce BlizzCons, play in Rock Bands, write raps, and work with incredible people. But the biggest opportunity came in 2008 when I joined “Team 5.” The Hearthstone Team.
I am very proud of Hearthstone. I think we made an impact on the industry. People tell me that Hearthstone brought their family closer together, or that they became close friends with people they met at a Fireside Gathering. Others tell me they were inspired by Hearthstone to become game developers themselves. It’s incredible to be a part of something that touches so many people.
But as proud as I am of Hearthstone, I am even more proud of the team.
There is no team like the Hearthstone team. People have come and gone over the 10 years Hearthstone has been in development, but there’s something special about the Soul of the Team. We knew our most important product wasn’t the game, but the team itself. A great team can do great things, and I think the Hearthstone team is the greatest. It isn’t just a job. It’s a shared passion. We get to come to work and focus on the game we love and try to make it better every day.
We frequently check the Hearthstone subreddit looking for opportunities to improve the game. I have loved the silly memes, engaging in spirited debates, or even just being held accountable to our shared high standards for the game. We try to be highly available on social media, and I think our team helped push the envelope in this regard. It has been especially satisfying to me to see the team step up over the last few years and help engage in these ways as I became more focused on direction and less on actual design.
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. 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.
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. I’m going to help start a new company. We’ll probably make games, but we haven’t figured anything else out, yet. I’m looking forward to designing, programming, and actually creating things again. I’m going to miss the on-campus Starbucks, though. Dang.
Blizzard, thank you for taking a chance on me, and thank you for taking a chance on Hearthstone. I can’t wait to see what you do next.
And to the passionate community of players – I will miss you, and the laughs we shared together. Thank you for making being a part of Hearthstone so much fun for me. I’ve loved every minute.
Sincerely,
Ben Brode
They only work 2 expansions ahead, not 4.
Blizzard's Ben Brode Answers Unsolved Hearthstone Mysteries | Ars Technica
TL;DR: No
Jade idol.
Bye Big B, you will be missed
This is a great new, It may be sad but it was his own decision, he left by the great gate I will be one of the first playing his new games for sure
Sad news...
Good luck on your way Ben!<3 <3 <3
I would like to have the assistant job for the new boss btw...
Now Blizzard has a unique opportunity to invite Ben Brode as a guest star every expansion announcement but as a playtester guy now like Day[9]. Just imagine how strange and funny it may be!
If it means that we get someone who laughs because things are funny, instead of Day9's incessant, forced, nervous, non-stop laugh track? All for it. 100%
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
we miss u
Though he is a really fun personality, so the memes will be missed :(
About time, i can't really think of any good changes from him
Signed Level 25 alt
He would be miss but like other Blizzard lead guys another would come and step up. He did a good for most part but even in his letter the team is basically the same and those complaining bout witchwood, it was still under his control. I also think this is good for HS and here why. The game is in a stale state atm. Witchwood is fun yes but still stale and honestly I think he knew he had to move on to give HS a new set of minds to move it past it. This has happen to World of Warcraft also. HS will not die so either way though he will be miss it is also good he letting younger fresher minds take over HS
*nervous laughter*
I knew these comments would be full of melodramatic "he was kicked out of Blizzard", "Hearthstone will die without BB!". Sometimes people feel the need to move on.
Anyway, they've said before that when an expansion is released, the next two expansions are finished and they're already working on the third. So the next 3 expansions will still have Brode's influence.
But I think after that, little will change in terms of development. Reveal seasons will certainly be less exciting without Ben's enthusiasm. Kind of like when Chris Metzen left Blizzard, Blizzcon became lifeless. But the games are still good.
Thanks for everything you've done Ben!
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Even his full fust value would not be a fair compensation for this whole community. We will miss you Ben!