Hearthstone Director Ben Brode Leaves Blizzard After 15 Years

Ben Brode, game director of Hearthstone, has announced that he is leaving Blizzard after 15 years. He wants to start a new company with others, which will probably focus on games.

In a farewell message on the Blizzard forum, he writes that he has enjoyed working on Hearthstone for ten years, together with ‘Team 5’. “I get too much credit for being the face out there, but the 80+ people on the development team are still there and they’re the people who make the maps, brawls, events, missions and features. I’m confident that the game is in the best of hands and I look forward to seeing where a new generation of leaders takes Hearthstone,” he wrote.

In his message, however, he does not give any details about a possible successor. He also doesn’t reveal much about his own future. All he says is that he has the chance to take “an insane risk” and start a company with others, which probably focuses on making games. However, not much would be certain yet. “I’m looking forward to designing, programming and actually creating things again,” Brode said.

Brode was relatively active on the Hearthstone subreddit and on Twitter. He also mentions this interaction with players in his post. Among Hearthstone players, he is known for his signature laugh and his rap, among other things.

Brode’s most recent video, in collaboration with Ars Technica