Geoff Goodman, lead hero designer responsible for many of Overwatch‘s characters, has reportedly left Blizzard.
According to PC Gamer, Goodman made the decision to leave Blizzard earlier this year. No specific reason for his departure, though.
“We thank Geoff for his many years of service at Blizzard and wish him all the best,” reads a statement from Blizzard. “His ability to bring to life Overwatch‘s diverse hero roster through gameplay has been incredible.”
Goodman’s work at Blizzard goes beyond designing heroes too. Initially, he was an encounter designer on World of Warcraft before moving to Titan, the long-canceled MMORPG that would eventually transform into Overwatch. During that transition, Goodman was instrumental in conceptualizing fan-favorite characters like Tracer, Winston, Solider 76, Mercy, and many more.
It’s worth noting that Goodman is leaving the company mere weeks before Overwatch 2 enters early access on Oct. 12, 2022. He even helped come up with Kiriko, the new support hero that’ll be available via battle pass rewards.
While it isn’t uncommon for developers to leave studios right after a game comes out, it rarely happens beforehand. There’s a lot of speculation floating around about why Goodman chose to leave, but unless he says why – we’ll likely never know.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.