Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce signs off for good
Pearce is the second co-founder to leave the studio this year
Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce has done what I could only dream of, putting World Of Warcraft behind him for good.
The studio announced last Friday that Pearce has called time on his 28-year career at the studio. His departure comes only months after fellow co-founder and orc warchief Mike Morhaime jumped ship in April.
"The time has come for me to step away from Blizzard and pass the torch to the next generation of leaders," said Pearce in a blog post.
"Words cannot express the gratitude I feel to have been involved with Blizzard, our games, our employees, and most importantly our community. Before Blizzard, I struggled to find a place in which I felt I belonged. Now I know I will always have a place, as will many other people. Thank you to all of you for providing me the sense of inclusion I require as a person."
Blizzard boss J. Allen Brack added: "Like many of us, Frank is an introvert. Thus many of you haven't seen a lot of him publicly, nor seen the deep impact he's had on Blizzard, and on the culture specifically. But Frank has been here from the beginning, building and expanding the foundation and championing the values behind everything Blizzard does. Blizzard is better because of Frank Pearce."
Pearce's tenure pre-dates even the name Blizzard, back when the studio made games like The Lost Vikings and Blackthorne under the rather less catchy moniker Silicon & Synapse.
Senior VP Allen Adham is now the last remaining co-founder at Blizzard, and thus the victor (to be fair, he cheated a bit by taking an extended break from 2004 to 2016).
It sounds like that'll be the big retirement for Pearce. After living and breathing Blizzard for half his life, he's excited to go outside, learn an instrument. Anything that’s not heading up a multi-million dollar videogame giant, really.
Personally, after 28 years and all that Blizzard dosh, I'd be happy taking a very long nap.