Cofounders leave Blizzard North

[Zero Signal]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/diabl...s_6030882.html

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/news/news_6030892.html

As surprising as the announcement may be for fans of the Diablo games, it may be even more surprising to know how quickly the group made the decision to leave. Roper said that the departures were the result of a series of very quick events. Indeed, the first time the group will meet to discuss their company plans in depth will be tomorrow morning. But what they do know for sure is that they want to start a new game project.

"We made a very difficult decision, Roper said. "We love everyone at Blizzard...at the San Mateo office and at Blizzard in Irvine." In addition to this personal well-wishing, he did reveal other reasons for wanting to see Blizzard North continue on, saying, "I want to play Diablo."

Asked what role Vivendi Universal's corporate management had to play in the decision, Roper admitted that was a big part of it. "We wanted to have a level of involvement [in deciding the studio's direction] that was not going to be made available," he said. "For the interests of the people that we work with, we should have been able to talk to the people that make the decisions and that knew what was going on." But in further describing Blizzard's situation, he said, "It's the same challenges we always faced. I have absolutely no doubt that they will keep fighting the good fight. We tried to leave them in a good place, and I honestly expect that Blizzard will continue to make great games."

Good luck to them with their next company. I just hope that the soul of what could be Diablo 3 hasn't been crushed as a result. :/