Epic Games president Mike Capps retires, remains on board of directors

Epic Games’ Mike Capps has announced his retirement from his role as president, but will stay on with the company’s board of directors in an advisory role.

In a post on Epic’s official site, Capps explains that with a child on the way his transition plans include being a stay at home dad for a while” while still remaining on with Epic in a limited capacity. He also expressed interest in pursuits outside the video game industry including charity work, teaching, and writing.

"Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney and other board members asked me to stay on the board, and I’m thrilled to do so as I’m truly excited about our future games and Unreal Engine 4.

"I’ve got great confidence in our executive team. VP of Development Paul Meegan is new to our Raleigh HQ, but we’ve worked with him for years, and I can only contemplate this retirement knowing that he and VP of Operations John Farnsworth can manage development better than I ever did."

Capps isn’t the first big name to take leave from Epic this year. Cliff Bleszinski departed back in October, and former director of production Rod Fergusson left for Irrational Games in August to work on Bioshock Infinite.

As for Epic itself, all announced projects including Unreal Engine 4, Gears of War: Judgment, Fortnite, and Infinity Blade Dungeons, are moving forward as scheduled.

"Mike Capps is retiring from his role as president of Epic Games to take on the ultimate boss battle of fatherhood and spend more time with his family,” an Epic Games rep told Polygon. He will continue to serve on Epic’s board of directors and advise on the development of our games. We thank Mike for the 10 years he’s spent leading our studio, implementing practices that enable us to create amazing games and technology, and making Epic one of the best places to work."