20 years! that's a looong time to be working in the same place...also, How old is this dude? Was he working at Epic since he was 15 or something?

Big designer, bigger personality. Now that he's out of Epic, I can't wait to hear what he's got to say without the chains of a PR spokesperson holding him to the wall.

Of course there's the chance he just retires with the Bioware doctors and brews beer till the end of his days...

This came out of nowhere. Interested in seeing what's next for him.

That's a loss for Epic. Wish him luck in whatever his next venture is.

I never got the chance to tell him that I loved him. And now he's gone forever.

Godspeed, Cliff.

what is this i don't even

Good. Hopefully he makes better games.

Good for him. He probably needs a break.

So long, guy who was part of the inspiration for multiple classic Something Awful characters such as Cliff Yablonsky and JeffK.

Stolen from The Twitters.

Whatever you think about Cliff he was certainly interesting. Best wishes to him.

Wow, didn't see this one coming. I guess he had been in the spotlight a lot less recently.

Godspeed, Young Clifford.

So what does this mean for Fortnite?

@Cyrisaurus said:

He's going to lead Kojima Production's LA studio.

I pray he doesn't.

Honestly i never saw the appeal in his games, especially the cliche ridden overrated space dude bro series.

Shame. What does that mean for Fortnite? And for Jazz Jackrabbit? : (

You know I bet he's going to open his own studio. I think he has someone like Ryan Payton, who founded his own studio and went to kickstarter, and made the game that he wanted. I think he wants that challenge of starting from nothing.

To me Epic WAS Cliffy B. I assumed he was a lead on everything Gears related.

File that one under "things I never expected to happen, ever."

He's going back to SA forums to post on GBS.

I wouldve loved to see Unreal 3 get made someday, But it just won't be the same without him.

Good luck cliffy b.... also...good luck Epic...because you are no longer as interesting. ;)

First Bioware, now Epic, who's next.

@Taku128 said:

Who cares

Well, me, for example. Been a fan of the company since Jazz Jackrabbit, even more when Unreal and later UT came out. I didn't know he was behind all of this at the time. I did when I played Gears, though.

I really like and appreciate the guy and I think it's sad to see him leave the game dev business.

@Alphazero said:

Stolen from The Twitters.

Blackopozicky will be missed rest in peast

Thank you for Jazz Jackrabbit. What a cool dude.

Oh wow, didn't see that one coming! Best of luck to you, Cliff. You may have had your foot in your mouth lately, but you did some wonderful things to this industry. Keep strong and I can't wait to see what you do when you return!

Not sure if this actually matters at all. I'm guessing probably not. Not meaning any disrespect, but "design director" sounds like more of cheerleader position, as opposed to someone who actually builds games.

Now if you told me the entire art team at Epic was retiring, that would be different.

cant believe he's moved on, see ya Cliffy B you will be missed by all who enjoyed your work at Epic

So what do we think the first release from his new mobile game studio will look like?

If Cliffy B starts making small indie games...will that mean there's two Indie Cliffy B's?

What will Brad Muir do to defend his title?

WOW didn't see that one comin! I seriously wonder what's next.

Gears of War is a fuckin GREAT GREAT SERIES!

@Alphazero said:

Stolen from The Twitters.

Would be funnier if the photo was Geoff Keighley.

Didn't see that one coming.

Between this and Bioware, it seems quite a few veterans are "taking a break" from the industry nowadays

Nintendo.

@Pixeldemon said:

Not sure if this actually matters at all. I'm guessing probably not. Not meaning any disrespect, but "design director" sounds like more of cheerleader position, as opposed to someone who actually builds games.

Now if you told me the entire art team at Epic was retiring, that would be different.

Well it matters as much as it would if a film director left a film franchise, as opposed to the actual actors. Which is to say it may or may not matter depending on the franchise.

The game industry burns out another, savage! But 20 years is a long time, but if you love what you're doing you usually stick with it.

Was it because of the Fortnight design document he left in the hall after his PAX Prime panel? Hmm...

The way this story is being reported on, it sounds like he's leaving games? But that can't be right, can it?

I really was not surprise by this one. Don't know why.

Not expecting this & wondering what he'll do next. Hopefully it won't be going to Ubisoft or Gameloft & starting up a game franchise called 'Gearz of the Warz' or something like that.

Well, that came out of nowhere.

this is quite a trend, i think its safe to say almost all creative directors/what have you will leave their nest eventually

Jazz Jackrabbit man, what a game. 

come on Cliffy, join Square Enix

He consistently seemed to be a pretty great guy and I always enjoyed his appearances in gaming coverage. Even if I just came in with Unreal and UT and never got that much into Gears. It'll be interesting to see what he might do next. I hope Epic keeps doing good work even without him on board.

Does this mean they'll re-release all their classics? 
 
No? Oh well, a guy can dream.

Maybe he'll be involved in some good quality products, because Gears 3 was ass.

Cliff gets his Super Mario Bros. score published in the first issue of Nintendo Power and later becomes the face of Epic.

Nintendo Power shuts down. Cliff leaves Epic.

The end.

@CountRockula Hilarious, but I really hope that's not the case.

Cliff was a great face for the industry.