The Diablo series has a new boss — a former Gears of War producer. Why did Blizzard choose him?
Blizzard hired Rod Fergusson to work on the Diablo franchise. He directed the Gears of War series for 15 years and helped launch Bioshock Infinite. We tell you what else Rod managed to mark and why he is a suitable candidate for the company.
Rod Fergusson
The appointment became known yesterday, February 5, thanks to a post of the very Kind on Twitter.
He said that in March he will join Blizzard, where he will be responsible for the Diablo series.
Starting in March, I will join Blizzard to oversee the Diablo franchise. Leaving is bittersweet as I love our Gears family, the fans, and everyone at The Coalition and Xbox. Thank you, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with you all. pic.twitter.com/0FuO3RFYSQ
— Rod Fergusson (@GearsViking) February 5, 2020
Официального поста от Blizzard по поводу назначения не было, однако в ленте Рода компания отметилась.
Welcome to #blizzlife, Rod, can’t wait! pic.twitter.com/23hVNIOZUP
— Life at Blizzard (@LifeatBlizzard) February 5, 2020He also said on Twitter that he was glad to see Ferguson in the Diablo team.
Старший вице-президент Blizzard по HR
Who is Rod Fergusson?
Rod began his career in the industry in the late 90s, when he headed Microsoft‘s work on Microsoft Train Simulator. A little later, he contributed to the appearance of Counter-Strike on the first generation Xbox.
Flashback to 2001 – delivering the gold disks to certification for my first game – “Microsoft Train Simulator” and then the “It’s in stores!” photo in EB Games at Redmond Town Center. Apparently shipping was not good for the waistline. pic.twitter.com/3k33qHQkVp
— Rod Fergusson (@GearsViking) July 21, 2018Gears of War moved from Microsoft to Epic Games, then consisting of only 63 employees.
Широкую известность в индустриальных кругах как менеджер он получил позже. В 2005 году он ради
The studio did not keep up with the release of the game, the team did not have a producer for the project. However, the game itself did not exist 18 months before the release, as well as the development methodology. Rod turned out to be the person who was able to set up the processes in the company and help release the project on time.
Under his leadership, Epic Games also released Gears of War 2 and 3, Shadow Complex, both Infinity Blade and Bulletstorm, and the company itself learned about the Gantt chart from him, as Rod shares in an interview with VICE.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Rod left Epic Games as production director only in 2012, when Ken Levine turned to him for help.
Bioshock Infinite was less than a year away from release, but the game was completely not ready for sales.
As former Irrational Games employees will later tell Polygon in private conversations, if it were not for Rod, the game might not have come out. Levin spent too much time prototyping, sorting through ideas and working out minor details. As a result, the development was delayed.
Fergusson shielded the team from having to implement all of Levin’s new ideas and helped them focus on developing the final product. Rod would later call the work on Infinite the most difficult in his career.
Bioshock Infinite
After working with Irrational Games and 2K Games, Rod was invited back to Microsoft, where he headed the studio The Coalition.
Today she is known as the developer of Gears of War 4 and Gears 5. Both projects received high press ratings and were released without delay.
Why did Blizzard attract him?
Due to the scandals that have plagued the company over the past year, the departure of key managers and a significant drop in revenue, Blizzard is experiencing a bad time. Now she needs a guaranteed blockbuster, and even better — a line of strong products, at the same time high-quality and released on time.
These are the results for the third fiscal quarter of 2019. Some of the lowest in the last four years
Probably, earlier the company could not afford the regular release of blockbusters due to the well-established development system, which allowed to repeatedly postpone the launch of games and even close them at the final stages (the company prioritized the quality of gameplay).
Today, already using the example of Warcraft 3: Reforged (the project came out raw, and its PR campaign did not match the product), it seems that the company is interested in changing the paradigm. The new one does not imply the cancellation of the product or its strong postponement. However, most likely, the company does not yet know how to work within such a system (at least, to give the previous level of quality).
Against this background, Rod Fergusson looks like an ideal candidate to work on the Diablo franchise. He will not only build processes in a new way, but also ensure a high-quality launch on time. Not for nothing, he is called a “closer” (from the English closer, in baseball — a pitcher who specializes in closing the match).
Besides him, has Blizzard already attracted eminent managers from other companies?
Yes. One of the most sensational is Sebastian Stempień, former creative director of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. He moved to Irvine a year earlier. It is not known what specific project Sebastian is working on, but given his experience, most likely we are talking about Daiblo IV, whose official announcement took place in the fall of 2019.
