After 15 years, Hearthstone director Ben Brode has left the company. Today was his last day, and he wrote a goodbye letter to both the company and the fans. Although he doesn’t say too much about his future plans, he says he’s going to start a new company that will likely be involved in game design.
“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 said. “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.”
Brode began at Blizzard as a “Night Crew Game Tester” and moved to Team 5 in 2008 to start working on Hearthstone. In late 2016, he was officially named Game Director and quickly became the face of the game thanks to his friendly nature.
“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 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.”
He ended the letter by thanking Blizzard and the game’s fans.
“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.”