Blizzard’s chief creative officer Rob Pardo leaves

Blizzard’s chief creative officer Rob Pardo has left after 17 years with the studio.

In a statement he said he made the decision to quit to pursue “the next chapter of my life and career”. It is not currently clear what his next step might be.

Pardo’s credits include StarCraft, World of Warcraft and Diablo 3, plus a number of other titles.

“After 17 years at Blizzard, with long and careful contemplation, I have made a difficult and bittersweet but ultimately exciting decision to pursue the next chapter in my life and career,” he said.

“Before I even joined Blizzard, I was already a huge fan of the company and its games. In particular, I was extremely passionate about the emerging genre of real-time strategy games. It was a dream come true when I was given the opportunity to work on StarCraft, which at the time was being created by a very small team by today’s standards.

“It was tremendously fulfilling to get to know everyone on the team personally and to contribute our energies toward a shared goal in such a creative and engaging environment.”

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Image credit: Official GDC