Blizzard hires Hearthstone player as associate designer

Blizzard Entertainment has employed a pro player of its hugely popular virtual card game Hearthstone.

Ryan Masterson, known as ‘Realz’ in the game, has been hired as an associate game designer for the title, according to PC Gamer. He is expected to help the team with balancing as new updates roll out for Hearthstone.

Speaking on Reddit, Masterson wrote: "This is a truly exciting opportunity for me, and (to rephrase from the words of someone I have long admired, who once entered a similar position) I hope my association with the continuing development of Hearthstone will serve to comfort fellow ladder grinders, competitors and players at large that ‘one of us’ is behind the scenes looking out for the interests of the play. I really can’t wait to get started".

Heartstone: Heroes of Warcraft was launched earlier this year.