At Guild Wars 2, Colin Johanson, the head of the game, is stepping down. His boss will take over for now.
As was announced yesterday during a Q&A session, the Game Director of Guild Wars 2, Colin Johanson, will be leaving ArenaNet. Johanson has been with the company for 11 years.
According to his own statements, this is not an amicable separation. Johanson is looking for something new, and moreover, the new job is closer to his home and family. He has nothing but love for the team, the game, and the community of Guild Wars 2 and wishes them well. Although he does not say where he is going, the US site Massively Overpowered speculates that a job at Amazon is awaiting him. They are currently attracting several veterans.
His successor will initially be Mike O’Brien as Game Director. He is currently also the President of ArenaNet, so the top boss. He co-founded the studio and was the Executive Producer for Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. However, O’Brien will not be able to do both jobs in parallel for long; it would be too much of a burden. In O’Brien’s words: “I’ll say it upfront, I’m ultimately going to have to hire someone to replace me. Believe it or not, running a company is a lot of work too.”
I’m curious to see who will be presented to us as the Game Director of Guild Wars 2.
