Cliff Bleszinski Leaves Epic Games

<p>Epic Games Design Director&comma; Cliff Bleszinski&comma; is parting ways with the studio&period; There was no mention as to what Cliff plans to do next in his career&comma; but it sounds like he may be leaving the gaming industry all together&period; This comes just months after Rod Fergusson left Epic Games to join Irrational Games and key members left People Can Fly&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager&comma; and outside of my sabbatical last year&comma; I have been going non-stop&period; I literally grew up in this business&comma; as Mike likes to say&period; And now that I’m grown up&comma; it’s time for a much needed break&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I will miss the projects&comma; the playtests&comma; the debates&comma; and most importantly&comma; the people&period; Epic only hires the best of the best&comma; and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis&comma; whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago&period; I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines&comma; from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big&comma; rewarding learning experience&period; I’m confident that each project that is being built&comma; whether at Epic&comma; Chair&comma; PCF&comma; or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>At least Cliff is leaving on good terms&period; Tim Sweeney&comma; Epic’s founder&comma; CEO and technical director said&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In 20 wonderful years with Epic&comma; Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary&comma; and his contributions to the &OpenCurlyQuote;Unreal’ and &OpenCurlyQuote;Gears’ series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today&period; Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions&comma; and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life&excl;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&lpar;Via <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;epicgames&period;com&sol;community&sol;2012&sol;10&sol;cliff-bleszinski-departs-epic&sol;">Epic Games<&sol;a>&rpar;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;