Out of Left Field: Cliff Bleszinski Departs Epic Games

In a rather unexpected turn of events, Cliff Bleszinski, the famed creative mind behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, has announced his departure from Epic Games and possibly even the gaming industry. The announcement was made this afternoon via a post on Epic's blog that addressed fans of Cliff's work. Cliff has made some undeniably significant impacts on the game industry as a whole in the past 20 years and it seems that he has decided to move on. Whether that be from Epic or from the industry in general is yet to be seen. Below is an excerpt from his note addressing his colleagues at Epic:

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, as Mike likes to say. 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. Epic only hires the best of the best, and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis, whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines, from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big, rewarding learning experience. I’m confident that each project that is being built, whether at Epic, Chair, PCF, or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike.

I may not consider myself a huge fan of Cliff's work but I will applaud him for establishing himself as one of the more approachable faces in game development. His antics were often poked fun of or ridiculed, especially within the games press but I think most people, in or out of the industry, shared a soft spot for this brutish nerd. While I may not be a big fan of Gears of War, the game was polished to high hell and played a huge role in improving the image of this industry in the mainstream media. 

I guess what i'm trying to say is that I will miss Cliff (also affectionately known as "Cliffy B") even if he was kind of dumb sometimes...

Source: Epic Games Blog