Blizzard MMOWorld of Warcraftis currently going through what could be considered the most tumultuous moment in its history. Developers forWorld of Warcraftare still dealing with the fallout of allegations of harassment, discrimination, and abuse among staff. It’s also been confirmed that Microsoft will be acquiring the company, implying major shifts could be coming soon.World of Warcraftitself is dealing with a frustrated player base, and now, yet another senior developer has now announced they’re leaving Blizzard.On Friday,World of Warcraft’s lead game designer Russ Petersen, also known as Nite Moogle, announced that he was working his final day at Blizzard. Russ has been an employee at Blizzard for just under 10 years. On Twitter, Petersen said, “I hope I have given you something inWorld of Warcraftto enjoy. Thank you all for enabling the wildly improbably ride I have been blessed to be on.” Petersen does not elaborate as to why he’s departingBlizzard, nor does he mention what he plans to do next or where that might be.RELATED:World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Finale Patch Eternity’s End Gets a Release DatePetersen has played a significant role in the modern development of World of Warcraft. He’s been responsible for many ofWorld of Warcraft’s reward systems, going back to theLegionexpansion. While he’s been involved or led the effort in many specificWorld of Warcraftreward systems, including Shadowlands' Great Vault and the infamous Heart of Azeroth and Azerite Armor systems, much of Petersen’s work has been behind the scenes. He describes his “crowning achievement” as helping makeWorld of Warcraft’s “back end numbers flexible.”
Blizzard isn’t the first gaming company that Petersen has worked for, either. Prior to moving to Blizzard to work onWorld of Warcraft,Petersen was a Staff Systems Designer at Carbine Studios where he worked on the company’s MMO,WildStar. Given his experience, it seems likely that Petersen will be welcomed into another online multiplayer gaming company if he chooses.
As for Blizzard, Petersen’s departure seems like another disappointing loss. The recent controversies at Blizzard have led to a number of notable names leaving theWorld of Warcraftdevelopment team and Blizzard as a whole. In January, lead quest designerJohnny Cashleft the company. In August 2021, principal designer Craig Morrison left the company. Those are just two notable, recent examples.
What’s next for Petersen will hopefully be exactly what the designer wants and needs from game development. Blizzard, in turn, will hopefully learn from Petersen’s departure and improve itself. This likely isn’t the final departure from theWorld of Warcraftteam, as anxiety grows over theMicrosoft acquisition- among other things.
