The world of video game development is quite competitive and demanding and it's not unusual to see people moving from one studio to a different one or even forming a new studio. But it is not common to see the head of a studio as important as The Coalition leave his current job to oversee a project from a different company, especially if we are talking of a studio that has created a very popular and successful license like Gears of War. Rod Fergusson has surprised everyone by announcing that he is leaving The Coalition to work for Blizzard on Diablo.
Starting in March, I will join Blizzard to oversee the Diablo franchise. Leaving is bittersweet as I love our Gears family, the fans, and everyone at The Coalition and Xbox. Thank you, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with you all. pic.twitter.com/0FuO3RFYSQ
— Rod Fergusson (@GearsViking) February 5, 2020
The Coalition worked hard to release Gears 5 last year, and they also launched Gears Pop! for mobiles. They even have an upcoming strategy game that will release in April, Gears Tactics, which is also included in the license. That's why it could be hard to understand that someone that has put so much effort into Gears of War for the last six years decides to leave to work on a different project.
On the other hand, Blizzard is currently one of the giants in the sector, and Diablo is probably the most popular action role-playing game series of all time. Diablo 4 was announced during the BlizzCon last year, and even though not much has been revealed about the game we have already had the opportunity to see some gameplay videos. The game looks quite good so far, and it will feature new classes like the Druid. Fergusson's experience as a studio head will definitely be quite valuable for developing the game and whatever future projects are coming.
Since Blizzard has not revealed how advanced is the development of Diablo 4 we can't know how much of an influence Rod Fergusson will have in the upcoming project. Meanwhile, The Coalition is already looking for a new studio head that helps them to continue working on the Gears of War franchise and whatever other projects they have for the future.
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