Hearthstone Director Departs Blizzard To Create New Company

Just because someone works on something that's a raging success doesn't mean they want to do it for the rest of their lives. There's always that yearning inside to try something new -- and on your own terms.

That's exactly what Ben Brode is doing. For years, he served as game director for Blizzard's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, which has become one of the most popular digital card games over the past few years.

But now, Ben is doing something new. He recently posted on the Blizzard forums, explaining how he's left the developer, in an effort to work on his own thing -- forming a new company.

He noted that "after 15 years at Blizzard and almost 10 years working on Hearthstone, I have made the incredibly difficult decision to embark on a new journey." He followed that with, "Man, that was a hard sentence to type."

He didn't note too many details about the company yet, but did state, "We'll probably make games, but we haven't figured anything else out, yet." He also added he's "looking forward to designing, programming and actually creating things again."

Considering his expertise, there's no reason he can't find success on his own. While it may take some effort to make his new project as best-selling as Hearthstone, there's no doubt he'll make incredible progress on whatever it may be.

"There is no team like the Hearthstone team. People have come and gone over the 10 years Hearthstone has been in development, but there's something special about the Soul of the Team. We knew our most important product wasn't the game, but the team itself. A great team can do great things, and I think the Hearthstone team is the greatest. It isn't just a job. It's a shared passion. We get to come to work and focus on the game we love and try to make it better every day.

"I am very fortunate to be able to take a crazy risk right now in my life, and I'm excited to be scrappy and a little scared. I'm going to help start a new company. We'll probably make games, but we haven't figured anything else out, yet. I'm looking forward to designing, programming, and actually creating things again. I'm going to miss the on-campus Starbucks, though. Dang."

He's leaving Blizzard on amicable terms, and had nothing but praise for his employer since 2008. "Thank you for making being a part of Hearthstone so much fun for me," he said. "I've loved every minute."

We certainly wish Brode the best of luck!

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is available for PC and mobile devices.