Engadget reports that Cliff Bleszinski has left Epic Games. This is very, very surprising especially since his Reddit AMA (just 19 days ago) and appearance in GameTrailers' Bonus Round, where he seemed happy with his current position and didn't seem to show any sign of retiring. I believe this is so sudden, something must have happened, though we might never know.
The Engadget post says: "Fall must be the season for sea changes in the game industry. Just weeks after BioWare's founders retired, key Epic Games veteran and Design Director Cliff Bleszinski (known to many as just CliffyB) is hanging up his hat. He simply describes it as taking a "much needed break," which makes sense when you see his development experience: he joined Epic's crew with Dare to Dream Volume One in 1993 and has nurtured virtually every major (and often minor) game franchise at the company since, including the Jazz Jackrabbit platformers, untold numbers of games in the Unreal line and most recently the Gears of War series. Bleszinski hasn't said where he's headed next, although it's hard to imagine him switching professions like the two BioWare doctors -- for many, he's synonymous with certain eras of first- and third-person shooters. Wherever he goes, we wish him the best of success."
Make no mistake, if this guy leaves the industry, it is a legend we are losing. Even more so than the doctors at BioWare. I sincerely hope he is either making his own company (I doubt it since Cliff was to Epic like Miyamoto is to Nintendo) or he's just taking a break to come back better than ever.
If you ever played any Unreal game, you played CliffyB's creations. And boy, was Unreal good.
Here's Cliff's official Wikipedia page.
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