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General manager over the Warcraft franchise at Blizzard John Hight has announced he’s leaving the company after almost 13 years.
Earlier this week, Hight shared on his personal Twitter that he is leaving Blizzard to “start a new quest.” While Hight was most recently overseeing the broader Warcraft series at Blizzard for the past decade and a bit, he’s been in the gaming industry for many years now, starting out at The 3DO Company, later moving on to other studios like EA, Atari, and Sony. As noted by PC Gamer, he worked on God of War 3 and helped to launch the PlayStation Network.
On Twitter, Hight wrote of his decision to leave Blizzard, saying “After 12 incredible years at Blizzard, I’ve decided to step away & start a new quest. It was a tough decision, but I feel like now is as good a time as any: Warcraft is in an amazing position as the universe turns 30. I’ve been so honored to serve all of the heroes of Azeroth.” He continued in further tweets, “You are the most passionate, dedicated, and creative community in gaming. You are why I’ve poured my heart and soul into creating the best games possible. You have inspired me, challenged me, and made me a stronger developer.
“I also want to share my immense gratitude and confidence in the teams & leaders supporting all the games across the Warcraft universe. I know you’ll take WoW, Hearthstone, and Rumble to new heights, and I can’t wait to experience your vision alongside other players. As for what’s next in my journey, I don’t have any specifics to share quite yet, but I am excited to explore new opportunities and challenges in the industry, and to continue making great games with talented people.”
Speaking to PC Gamer in an earlier interview, High spoke of his hopes for his legacy, sharing that he gets to “work with all these people, and these people are going to do great things. So my legacy is that they’re going to remember me, in some shape or form. This goofy little guy saw my potential and gave me a shot.”
Hight’s departure follows several other high-profile exits that have taken place at Blizzard over the past few years, including Mike Ybarra and Allen Adham, and Overwatch 2’s former vice president Jon Spector.