Today we are saying farewell with warm regards to Cliff Bleszinski, who is departing as Epic’s design director to chart the next stage of his career. During the past two decades, Cliff has helped shape many successful games that have captured the imaginations of millions of players around the world. We are grateful for his influence on Epic’s legacy, from the wild adventures “Jazz Jackrabbit” to the visceral combat of “Gears of War.”

Said Tim Sweeney, Epic’s founder, CEO and technical director, “In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the ‘Unreal’ and ‘Gears’ series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today. Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life!”

“In my 10 years of working with Cliff, his passion for creating video games of the highest quality has been unflinching. We are grateful for all of his hard work, and remain committed to making our fans happy and to always raising the bar in everything we do at Epic,” said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps.

“Cliff has been my friend and business associate for the past 20 years and, while it is sad to see him move on from Epic, I know that everyone here has benefitted greatly from his passion for gaming and the depth of his expertise and experience,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic. “I’ll miss watching his star shine from such a close vantage point but I’ll still look forward to watching his continued success.”

We would also like to share an excerpt from Cliff’s personal note to his colleagues:

I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business, as Mike likes to say. And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break.

I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people. Epic only hires the best of the best, and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis, whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines, from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big, rewarding learning experience. I’m confident that each project that is being built, whether at Epic, Chair, PCF, or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike.

We wish Cliff the best with his future endeavors. You can, too, via @therealcliffyb on Twitter.

so what is he doing now

Wuuuuuuuuuuuut

That's a shocker! I just saw him on Bonus Round.

this seems....unreal

He's officially Ice T's bitch.

@byterunner said:

so what is he doing now

Looks like he's going to do his own thing for a while before deciding.

"I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business," Bleszinski said. "And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break. I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people."

Uh. So. Videogames are over, I guess.

Yeah, really surprised about this. Didn't expect it at all. Excited to see what he does next though.

WHY DID HE NEVER MAKE A NEW JAZZ JACKRABBIT!? It could've been the best downloadable game of '08, '09, '10, '11 or '12, but now that chance has passed by......

epicgames.com/community/2012/10/cliff-bleszinski-departs-epic/
 
Oh...wow!! I expected him to be there forever. First the Bioware Doctors, now Cliff. That's crazy.
 

Today we are saying farewell with warm regards to Cliff Bleszinski, who is departing as Epic’s design director to chart the next stage of his career. During the past two decades, Cliff has helped shape many successful games that have captured the imaginations of millions of players around the world. We are grateful for his influence on Epic’s legacy, from the wild adventures “Jazz Jackrabbit” to the visceral combat of “Gears of War.”

Said Tim Sweeney, Epic’s founder, CEO and technical director, “In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the ‘Unreal’ and ‘Gears’ series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today. Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life!”

“In my 10 years of working with Cliff, his passion for creating video games of the highest quality has been unflinching. We are grateful for all of his hard work, and remain committed to making our fans happy and to always raising the bar in everything we do at Epic,” said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps.

“Cliff has been my friend and business associate for the past 20 years and, while it is sad to see him move on from Epic, I know that everyone here has benefitted greatly from his passion for gaming and the depth of his expertise and experience,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic. “I’ll miss watching his star shine from such a close vantage point but I’ll still look forward to watching his continued success.”

We would also like to share an excerpt from Cliff’s personal note to his colleagues:

I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business, as Mike likes to say. And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break.

I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people. Epic only hires the best of the best, and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis, whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines, from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big, rewarding learning experience. I’m confident that each project that is being built, whether at Epic, Chair, PCF, or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike.

We wish Cliff the best with his future endeavors. You can, too, via @therealcliffyb on Twitter.

Edit: Double thread? :|

Look out for Cliffy B's solo rap album debut Young Clifford: Origins this fall, with guest vocals by Ice T.

@byterunner said:

so what is he doing now

Playing Gears of War multiplayer full time.

@Meltac said:

WHY DID HE NEVER MAKE A NEW JAZZ JACKRABBIT!? It could've been the best downloadable game of '08, '09, '10, '11 or '12, but now that chance has passed by......

Now that he's not attached to a studio, there's always Kickstarter!

I wonder where he goes from here.

Fucking WHAT!?

@Vinny_Says said:

this seems....unreal

Indeed. I wonder if they'll have a tournament to find his replacement.

It feels like he has earned the retirement. Have fun Cliffy B.

wow, that's crazy.

Rod Fergusson left.  People Can Fly founders left. Now Cliffy left. What the fuck is going down at Epic. 

This is somehow EA's fault, right?

@Milkman: I blame Activision

..... What a shame? Maybe now Epic will return to its former glory. One can hope...!

He's going to start a rock band with Peter Molyneux and the doctors from Bioware.

"It will be the most amazing music you've ever heard. It will redefine the way you hear sound."

Either that or he'll make casual games for mobile platforms...that's what iconic developers do now, right?

@Vegetable_Side_Dish said:

Rod Fergusson left. People Can Fly founders left. Now Cliffy left. What the fuck is going down at Epic.

PCF founders left? Is this before or after Bullestorm released? That game got a really shitty end of the stick there. It was a beautiful game, played well and even had a pretty decent story for a shooter. I'd like to say that it was the poorly constructed marketing and launch window that buried it but as far as I know not a lot of people were that into it.

@PenguinDust: Might I refer you to the cliffy B interview on this site with Jeff where he gets asked that very question and says "It would be hell."

man, this might be the beginning of the end or it might just be a start of a new industry.

@Benny: I assume you mean making casual mobile games because rockin' out with Peter and Doctors would be sweeet.

@Tim_the_Corsair: I knew it!!

CAPCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

That's insane, wonder what he's going to do now.

They grow up so fast :(

I really hope something insane happens with his career going forward, like some Japanese company hires him as the sort of "Western Gaming Conventions Consultant" he sometimes talked about becoming.

I'm just going to go out on a limb and say Gears of War Judgement is going to be a utter failure.

@Milkman: Epic

E

EA

Hope he doesn't disappear from the industry, he seems like a pretty cool guy.

It will be interesting to see what he does in the social/mobile field, cause I am betting he is heading in that direction.