When Rod Fergusson joined Blizzard in 2020, he was expected to live up to his reputation as the “Closer” and successfully bring Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal out of development hell. Now the veteran is leaving the diabolical franchise.
Why is Rod Fergusson leaving? The General Manager for the Diablo franchise explains in a new post on X that he will leave Blizzard after 4 major releases. Fergusson writes:
After five years of driving the Diablo franchise forward with four major releases, it is time for me to leave Blizzard/Microsoft with sword in hand and see what comes next. The teams are set up for success and have an exciting array of releases ahead. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve built together and look forward to what comes next for Diablo and me.
Hellishly Good Developer
What job did Rod Fergusson have? When the experienced veteran joined Blizzard in 2020, two major games of the studio, Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal 2, were in development, with the fourth installment particularly having a very difficult development period. Additionally, the major Blizzard classic Diablo 2 was set to receive a remake with Resurrected.
To ensure all 3 projects would launch successfully, Blizzard management specifically sought a developer with experience in the blockbuster sector and a reputation as a “Closer” who knows how to wrap up projects.
- Rod Fergusson was the lead behind the “Gears of War” series for many years.
- The developer helped bring the also problematic development of BioShock Infinite to a successful conclusion.
- At Epic, he worked on games like Unreal Tournament 3, Infinity Blade, and Shadow Complex.
Fergusson proved at Blizzard that his reputation was warranted. All 3 Diablo games celebrated major release successes. Diablo 4 alone generated $666 million just 5 days after launch. On October 8, 2024, the release of the first D4 expansion Vessel of Hatred followed.
The General Manager comments on linkedin.com that his goal was to give one of his own favorite franchises, Diablo, a new boost, and how proud he is to have achieved that goal.
What does the departure mean? According to Fergusson, the Diablo team is optimally positioned for the future. The second expansion for Diablo 4 is set to release in 2026. However, fans can expect even more releases.
The developer is looking forward to what lies ahead. He doesn’t reveal any details. Due to his track record, many are now wondering if he could join the next studio currently struggling with a prestige project in development hell. There would be several candidates… how about this game here: Bungie desperately needs success, but Marathon is (yet?) not good enough – delay should fix that, team learns about it likely at the same time as fans
