Rod Fergusson wants to embark on new adventures independently of Microsoft and beyond Blizzard.

On Bluesky, Fergusson wrote that with four major releases and five years of leading Diablo behind him, he is leaving Blizzard—sword in hand—to see what comes next. He is proud of what he has built so far and is excited to see what the future holds for both himself and Diablo. His next destination is unknown, but a move to Take-Two isn’t out of the question, as BioShock 4 could use some restructuring.

Fergusson has had a long and eventful career in the gaming industry, which began in the mid-1990s at Microsoft. He was the producer of the original Gears of War and its two sequels, briefly worked at Irrational Games to help finish BioShock Infinite, and later joined The Coalition (then known as Black Tusk Studios) to return to the Gears franchise, which Microsoft had acquired. In 2020, he announced that “it was time for a new adventure” and became the head of Diablo at Blizzard after the departure of Blizzard co-founders Mike Morhaime and Frank Pearce the previous year. At Blizzard, he achieved solid results, contributing to the success of Diablo IV.

“When I joined Blizzard five years ago, I had two main goals (besides getting my sword!): to revitalize one of my favorite franchises of all time and to have a meaningful impact on the company I admired. It is with great pride and gratitude that I can look back on this period of my career and say that I achieved those goals. Having the privilege of leading this team alongside some of my favorite people and delivering amazing experiences for our players helped me grow as a leader and as a person.

The Diablo franchise has never been stronger or more relevant than it is right now, thanks to the hard work of the passionate and talented Diablo team members over the past five years. From the return of a classic with D2R to the bold leap into mobile with Immortal to the record-breaking launch of Diablo 4 and its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, each of these games forms the foundation upon which the team will continue to build the franchise’s bright future,” Fergusson wrote in a longer farewell message on LinkedIn.

Best of luck to him.

Source: PCGamer, Bluesky, LinkedIn